When Worlds Collide
by Hypnotic Avenger
Summary: NEW CHAPTER 927!   11 years later, Jess and May Belle's road trip becomes an adventure they could have never predicted.  A very unique crossover story with something for everyone. First fanfic, please R&R!
1. Ch 1 The Road Trip

Set 11 years after Leslie's death. Disney movieverse. Not a songfic but current plan is that you will hear a lot from a certain band. :)

A/N: I do not own any Jess, Leslie, Janice, Ms. Edwards, nor any other BtT character or creature. I do own most of the other characters I introduce. Enjoy!

Chapter 1 – The Road Trip

_She__'__s blinding, I__'__m flying_

_Right behind the rear-view mirror now._

_Got the feeling, power steering_

_Pistons popping, __aint__ no stopping now!_

_Panama, panama__…_

"Nothing like a little Van Halen to keep the energy level up", thought Jess as the drive neared its end. It was nearly midnight, and Jess and May Belle Aarons finally pulled into the Canyon Plaza Quality Inn. The two-day, 1900 mile drive had been exhausting but both of them were excited about the next morning – the graduation present Jess had promised her for years. His advances from his graphic novel could have easily bought them plane tickets but they decided they wanted to have the experience of a traditional road trip.

Jess was 22 now, and had just graduated with his degree in Art Education from Virginia Tech University. His job as the new art teacher at Lark Creek Elementary school was already lined up for the fall – Principal Edmunds had offered him the day after he graduated college. He wasn't sure how his love for art would translate into teaching a group of "strangers" but the kids fell in love with him during his student teaching.

The idea of becoming outgoing enough to teach still seemed strange to Jess and his family, but he knew it was the lasting influence of his long-lost friend that allowed him to get to this point in his life. In their short time together, Leslie had given him the key to unlock his imagination. "You're going to make a difference in a lot of lives someday, Jess Aarons…" echoed in his ear again, bringing a smile tinged with sadness. Her reassuring voice was always in his ear when he felt a shadow of doubt creeping into his life.

Too tired to sleep, Jess flipped through the TV channels with a remote control that was annoyingly anchored to the nightstand with a retractable cord. He didn't know why exactly, but he paused on a professional wrestling show. He never watched this kind of stuff and neither did May Belle. It was probably just the exhaustion of the road but they were both sucked in.

Grabbing his opponent from behind, hands clasped behind the opponent's neck in a full-nelson, the larger man on the screen drove his opponent face-first into the mat and rolled him over while the referee slapped the mat three times. He stood up as the announcer bellowed, "Here is your winner, King Richard!" as overdone "royal" music began to play and a ringside attendant draped a purple robe over him, handing him a scepter and his crown. The crown and robe looked familiar to Jess … "Just coincidence", he reassured himself. Jess and May Belle laughed as he addressed the crowd "My loyal subjects" in such a tacky way. The two siblings knew how real royalty would act, and this wasn't even close. The crowd seemed to be eating it up though, chanting "Richard! Richard!" in unison.

Just as May Belle reached for the remote, "King" Richard was interrupted by two slightly smaller guys. Why did the mere sight of these two on an obviously fake TV show send a simultaneous chill down their spines? The two listened transfixed as the leader, the one with a large golden belt, began to speak.

_"King_ Richard", the man said with a sneer… You're no king. A real king is feared by his subjects. You take them out to a redneck bar and and buy them a round of beers. You're a pretender, an out-of-shape piece of crap who will be exposed."

"You don't even deserve a shot at this title. I only agreed to it if you put your "king" paraphernalia on the line so I can do these people a favor and shut your pretentious mouth. You're a glorified curtain-jerker who used your status as a former champion's father to get one last turn in the limelight. And if I had been IN that King of the Ring tournament four months ago, all these people would have already forgotten your name".

"At Hot Summer Nights, I'm going to beat you to within an inch of your life. I'm going to keep my championship, rip up that ridiculous robe of yours, put that crown on my head and make all of these idiots out here bow down to a REAL king."

"Let's get one thing straight. You may have crushed this no-name loser you were up against, but you are no match for the Heartbreakers. You will fall just like all the other challengers and will come to realize that NOTHING can crush us."

Another chill ran down Jess and May Belle's spines at the same time. "He didn't just say 'Nothing Crushes Us'…?" May Belle's voice trailed off into the distance as Jess had a strange look on his face. He'd never heard that exact phrase used outside of Terabithia, where it was the kingdom's motto.

Neither of them were interested in the match between two female competitors, so the two found their way into their queen beds and said goodnight, ready for a long day of sightseeing the next day at the Grand Canyon.


	2. Ch 2  Canyon Dreams

Chapter 2 – Canyon Dreams

May Belle and Jess woke up to catch sunrise over the Canyon rim, walking the 10 minutes to the gate entrance and catching the bus with the other early-risers. It was a beautiful morning with scattered clouds and a crisp 55 degrees. The park wasn't as crowded as they feared and Jess and May Belle stared out over the wide expanse. It was like nothing they'd seen before. The canyon dwarfed even the great valley of Terabithia. Jess set up his easel and his hands began painting for him while he opened up his mind and attempted to take it all in. He always slipped into a kind of trance when he was truly awestruck by something wonderful… being pleasantly confused at the end by how much time he spent painting and amazed by the detail he had just captured.

The day was everything they dreamed of and more… painting, hiking, exploring… this was the farthest either of them had ever been from home and they were spellbound at the variety in nature that they had only seen in books and on TV before. By the time they finished dinner at the very interesting restaurant with Native American dance performances on the hour, they were ready to head back to the hotel and crash.

By the time he was 12, Jess discovered the art of lucid dreaming – the ability to control the directions his dreams would go in. It was a blessing and a curse at the same time. It helped him expand his imagination and creativity like never before, but in the beginning he preferred his sleeping hours to his waking ones, since he could spend time with Leslie in his dreams.

It was ironic, then, that the imaginary kingdom of Terabithia was the very thing that kept Jess connected to reality as he struggled with depression in the years after the loss of his best friend. May Belle was patient with him and slowly became his second soulmate as they ruled Terabithia together over the years. Even now, after ten years of ruling as an equal with Jess, May Belle still refused the title of Queen, saying "I'm proud to be your princess and we do a great job together, but there is a different Queen somewhere who will join you someday".

Jess's dream world became more about the magic of Terabithia than a place to visit Leslie (though he did still "visit" her from time to time). In his dreams he explored possibilities for the kingdom, which he and May Belle would then hash out in real life. His dreams didn't always exactly match what really happened when he visited, but they gave him a strong sense of how things were going there and provided great fuel for his graphic novels. The dream images seemed to be so clearly painted in his mind that it was effortless for him to put them on paper when he awoke. This arrangement worked well for Jess – who had time to stop and pull out an easel when there was an increasingly busier kingdom to run with more creatures that had to be dealt with?

Jess's ability to keep track of Terabithia in his dreams made him much more comfortable traveling or leaving home. While a dream visit didn't work like a physical visit, it seemed the inhabitants of Terabithia could read his dreams and take direction through them. Granted, there hadn't been any major crisis in Terabithia since Leslie's death, but there were more than a few times that Jess's dreams smoothed things over there.

Jess didn't dream about Terabithia tonight, though. He was dreaming about those two guys from the wrestling program. "King" Richard was showing off his crown, robe, and scepter in an empty arena. While he seemed a decent enough guy, there was something about that scepter. Jess knew he wasn't supposed to have it.

Jess tried to take over his dream and control it, like he always did, but to his surprise he couldn't. He was interrupted by the "bad guy" from the wrestling show, Paul Brunette. He was laughing at Jess's attempt. "Jess Aarons," he said, "You're going to let that disgrace parade around with what you know belongs _somewhere else_? Figures. You never were much of a fighter when it came right down to it. Good at getting other people to fight your battles for you but you knew physically you'd lose any fight."

"No matter," the man continued, "the Hot Summer Nights show is only a week away. I'll win your robe, crown, and scepter fair and square, play with them for a bit, and then dump them in a river somewhere. What are you going to do about it? _Draw_ some troll to come get it from me? You're no king, Jess… you're a kid who made up a fake world in the woods with your long-dead friend and that's all you will ever be."

Jess woke up horrified. Who was this person and why couldn't he take over the dream? He knew that for some reason he couldn't wrap his head around yet, he had to get the crown, robe, and scepter back to Terabithia. "I had a dream about those wrestling guys last night."

May Belle's answer sent his mind swirling into a whole new level of shock. "Um, I'm afraid I… well…had that dream too, Jess." Jess's eyes became as big as saucers and his jaw hit the floor. They stared at each other for a very long 10 seconds. "What are you going to do about this, Jess?" May Belle asked. Jess had a peculiar déjà vu feeling about a package of Twinkies and a schoolyard bully….


	3. Ch 3 An Unlikely Ally

Chapter 3 – An Unlikely Ally

May Belle was listening to Jess's half of a cell phone conversation.

"Janice, I need you to teach me everything you know about professional wrestling"

"Quit laughing, this is important. You do know about it, right?"

"Good. May Belle needs to hear this so I'm going to put you on speaker."

Janice continued "Jess, I'm never going to understand you but I'm always happy to help." Janice and Jess had been friends ever since Leslie's death. They never became soulmates and he wouldn't consider taking her into Terabithia (though she loved his comics about the "imaginary" land). But it had been good to have another friend his own age to bounce things off of when things got bad at school, and their friendship stuck through high school. Janice learned in high school that she was even better at hitting a softball than hitting a boy's face, and landed a softball scholarship to Arizona State. They stayed good friends despite the distance.

"OK, here goes," Janice explained. "This King Richard and Paul Brunette stuff. Strange stories with both of them. They were what we'd call "midcarders", that means people who don't fight in the main event or anything, they're just sort of run of the mill. They never get the big matches or the big publicity. King Richard used to be simply known as Big Richard, until he won a big tournament early this year. Nobody thought he had a chance but it was like… I don't know… almost like someone else was competing in his body. No – actually, like someone took over all his _opponents_ and made them suck."

"But everyone was happy about that… if nothing else, Richard made an entertaining "king", passing his crown around the crowd, drinking a beer out of it, stuff like that."

"The championship became vacant around the same time that Richard won that tournament and again, we all thought one of the top stars would win the vacant title. Apollo, one of the Bad Dudes, Jay Clark, Jon Harris, someone like that. But just like Richard did in the King event, Brunette blew through the whole field. He didn't even have much experience as a single competitor".

"Single competitor?" Jess asked.

"Some guys fight mostly in teams of 2 – tag teams. He was in a tag team called the Heartbreakers who are pretty good but never had much success apart from each other. Anyways, Brunette must have been possessed by the ghost of Eddy Gurrero or something. He wasn't himself that night and he beat 3 of the top 4 guys – easily in fact – and was suddenly World Heavyweight Champion. Why do you care again?"

"Just one of those things you wouldn't understand, you have to trust me", Jess smiled, "What else do I need to know? Is this stuff even real?"

"CWF… yeah, it's real", Janice continued. "I know most people think it is fake but these matches aren't decided in advance, these guys really battle it out. There are safety things people don't know about like the heavy padding of the mats and so forth… and it's not really "no holds barred", there are a lot of things you could do in that ring where you'd be fired on the spot. But yeah, these guys really do compete."

"So how would you get to meet one of these guys?" Jess asked.

"Welll… I could get us some tickets to the Hot Summer Nights show on Friday… it's in Phoenix and you guys said you're in Arizona, right?"

Jess knew that he had to meet King Richard. Richard was a "good guy" and could be reasoned with. He'd buy the robe and stuff for a few hundred dollars and somehow, he knew, everything would be ok then.

"Friday it is, then," said Jesse. "We're looking forward to it!" Were they? Neither Jesse nor May Belle had the faintest interest in watching these oversized guys fight, yet they knew they needed to make their way down to Phoenix.


	4. Ch 4 A Bold Plan

Chapter 4 – A Bold Plan

OK, May Belle, here's how it's going to work. You and Janice are going to distract the security guards and I'm just going to run down to Richard's locker room. I'll be in there quick, tell him right away I'm not looking for any trouble, offer him some money for the stuff, and be right back at the main entrance. Piece of cake. I'm not much of a fighter in the regular world – but I can still run fast.

"What about security?" May Belle wondered.

"Janice told me that the security here is all wannabe wrestlers who couldn't make the cut. And I'm faster than any of the active competitors anyways so I'll dodge them."

Jess was right. He slipped into King Richard's dressing room while two security guys had their backs turned.

"Huh – what the ---!" stammered Richard.

"Sir, I know this is really unexpected but just give me a minute to explain myself, it will all make sense, I promise"

"Alright, said Richard defensively, "you have 60 seconds before I call security or throw you out myself"._ I can snap this kid in half if he's a real problem._

Jess was usually more deliberative but wanted to make the most of his 60 seconds, so he started quickly. "You ended up with that robe and scepter and crown by mistake, and I need to get them back to their rightful owner. I'm sure whatever happened, it's an honest mistake. I don't have any problem with your, um… your character, and I have two hundred dollars for you to replace this stuff with something else. I don't think you want to hear all the details but I just _have_ to get this stuff back to Ter – er, where it belongs. So we can just trade the stuff for the money, you go out and win your match, and I disappear?"

"Oh, I get it," said Richard. Jess felt a moment of relief flow through his body. "You are trying to break into the business and want to rub some elbows. I've seen it a million times."

"No sir," Jess interrupted. "I have no interest in competing in any—"

"Shut up! I gave you a minute and you're lucky you got that." Richard was serious. "I admire your guts though. Here's the deal. Normally, I'd call security and have someone who broke into my dressing room arrested. Instead, I'm going to get you some good seats for the show and wish you the best of luck."

"But you don't understand… I don't want to wrestle anyone…"

"Nope, you're done here." Richard made a 10 second phone call and two security people appeared at the door. "Hey, guys. This kid here…um…"

"My name is Jess Aarons."

"Yeah, I invited Jess to come back here before the show and get an autograph. Really nice kid, try to give him and whoever he came with some front row seats, ok?"

Five minutes later, Jess and May Belle sat dejected in the front row of seats, directly behind the TV announcers. Janice Avery was checking constantly to make sure she wasn't drooling from the excitement.


	5. Ch 5  A Change in Plans

Chapter 5 – A Change of Plans

The siblings were impressed by some of the acrobatic and strength feats they saw. Several of the smaller guys flew through the air, flipping and twisting before they landed on their opponents. The bigger guys could pick up a large opponent over their head and drop them behind their back. Still not the kind of thing that Jess would ever "get into" but he could see how someone like Janice would get it. Janice seemed to know exactly who to cheer and who to boo, so May Belle and Jess halfheartedly copied her as the night went on.

Finally they got to the main event. It was King Richard against the champion, Paul Brunette. Both of these guys really gave Jess and May Belle the creeps, but Janice was too busy cheering her lungs out for Richard to notice. Richard was a bigger guy than Paul but Paul looked to be in much better shape.

The crowd cheered valiantly as Richard took control of the match. Every time he seemed close to victory, though, Paul would sneak out of the ring and take a break for a few seconds. Richard also had one eye over his shoulder for John Kujo, Paul's partner.

Richard fought as hard as he could, but at a critical moment of the match, Kujo grabbed his leg (unseen by the referee). The momentary stumble was all Paul needed to pick Richard up off his feet and drop him chest-first across his knee. With the wind knocked out of him, Paul easily laid across him for the three count.

"Ladies and gentlemen, your winner… still World Champion and now the new King, Paul Brunette!"

White and gold fireworks exploded violently above the ring, the sparks almost touching the ground, as Paul's tag-team partner outfitted him with the robe, crown, and scepter.

With his sister and friend momentarily spellbound by the fireworks, Jess knew he had to do the one thing he could better than anyone else in the building: run. Before May Belle even realized he was missing, he had snuck into the ring under the cover of the blinding sparks, and was just feet away from Paul Brunette and John Kujo.

But Jess froze for a second. What was he thinking? Time stopped as the thoughts of bad endings to this situation paralyzed him. Suddenly, though, there was a loud bang. The fireworks changed to blue and gold and became ten times brighter. Emboldened by the distraction and the unexpected appearance of the colors of Terabithia, Jess snatched the robe, crown, and scepter, and sprinted out the back door of the arena. The Heartbreakers stood there in shock at what had just happened but it was like a blur to them too. They were left stunned and paranoid, under the continuous shower of blue and gold sparks.

In the fireworks control room, a new employee was being screamed at by his boss. "Gold and GREEN if Richard won. Gold and WHITE if Paul won. You weren't even supposed to BRING blue! We could lose this entire wrestling contract over this!"

"But I didn't bring any blue. I didn't put any blue in the truck, I swear!" pleaded the young guy.

Jess's long-lost soulmate Leslie, frozen in time at eleven years old, smiled mischievously at the colors of Terabithia shining brightly for the whole world to see. They were only allowed a few very subtle "interventions" in our world and she had made the most of this one.

Jess had just gotten to his car, fumbling for the keys, when a police car pulled up to him. The officer jumped out. "Hands on the hood of the car! Freeze!"


	6. Ch 6 Jail?

"Unchained?" thought Jess, "how ironic". A small radio was playing on the guard's table. For the first time in his life, Jess was in trouble with the police. In fact, he was in jail.

It wasn't supposed to end up like this. He had offered "King" Richard a fair price for the crown, robe, and scepter. He could have bought _nicer_ stuff with the $200. But Richard had said no, and Jess felt compelled to act. Now he sat in jail, hoping his phone call to May Belle's cell phone would bring him some help.

_At least nobody else is in the holding cell with me_, Jess thought. He didn't have any idea what to expect except what he'd seen in horrible movies and TV shows. Jess's imagination was terrifying him – he was very skilled at making a good situation something fantastic and a bad situation something downright horrible. He was just waiting for some huge guy to come in and tell him how "pretty" he was. Jess shuddered.

The guard walked over. "Okay, attorney visit, let's go". _I have an attorney? Must be a public defender or something._ But Jess was happy to get out of the cell and into the attorney area. Surely he couldn't be in THIS much trouble, he'd pay a small fine and be on his way. Jess took his seat at the end of a long table opposite a man with a strange beard.

"Mr. Aarons," he said, "pleased to meet you. Bill J. Radinz, you can call me Bill." He passed his business card over to Jesse.

_Bill J. Radinz. Attorney at law. Chief Executive Officer, CWF Entertainment._ Jess was more confused than ever.

"Oh, come on," Bill said. We have to run kind of a tight ship in this promotion. Can't be hiring lawyers left and right to fix our problems. Better that I can run the show and handle the legal, right?"

It dawned on Jess that this man was key to solving this problem. "Sir, er.. Bill?" "This was just all a big mistake." A soft but familiar voice inside Jesse's head said "_You're lying, Jesse. And that's different than making up a story, you're flat out lying"._

"I mean," Jess changed tactics, "You have to believe me that there is something important and dangerous in the stuff that Brunette is carrying around. I have no intention to get involved in wrestling. And I originally offered Richard more than enough money to buy _better_ robes and stuff. I just need to get those items somewhere safe before anyone gets hurt.

Bill smiled. "Mr. Aarons, there are two things about you. One, you are very creative. You'd probably be a better producer than many of my current guys. Our matches are real but storylines – who fights who – we help set the stage for those."

"But that's not why I'm here. You see… whether you want to or not, whether you think you can or not, I need you in this promotion. Do you have any IDEA how many website hits we got after you stormed the ring like that? A guy out of the stands embarrassing the World Heavyweight Champion. I haven't seen anything like it since I have been CEO."

"Seriously, sir, I don't wrestle. I have no background in it. All I can do is run fast."

"So I noticed!", laughed Bill. "Look, time is money so let's cut to the chase. If a fan just ran into the ring and embarrassed the World's Heavyweight Champion, this sudden influx of interest will turn into embarrassment. People are going to think we aren't in control and that the champion sucks."

_He's only a midcarder anyways,_ thought Jess.

"But… if a brash newcomer wrestler showed up and shocked the world – well – that will sell some tickets. Wouldn't you think?"

"I suppose. But I'm not a wrestler!" Jess insisted.

"Are you in better shape than Richard?"

"Yes, of course"

"Are you faster than anyone you saw tonight?"

"Yeah, except maybe that really acrobatic woman." _Some things never change._

"Oh, yeah, A.J. – She's something else.", Bill laughed. "Also, I can tell you from experience that you are smarter than 90 of the guys on my roster."

Bill paused.

"Now, Mr. Aarons, you have a choice to make. You can stew here until Monday. You'll have a court hearing, probably plead guilty to an ordinance violation and pay about 300 bucks. You'll go home without your stuff and never hear from me again."

_I can't leave without the stuff._

"Or…" Bill reached into his briefcase and passed some papers over to Jess.

_I can't believe this,_ thought Jess. On top of the papers were the words "CENTRAL WRESTLING FEDERATION – DEVELOPMENTAL TALENT CONTRACT".

"It's a two month deal. We'll try it out, get you some TV exposure. And we're very safe. I mean, yes, you are going to get smacked around a bit but you'll have some matches you can compete in. And our referees are very good at stopping fights if things get out of hand. We haven't had a serious injury in a very long time. "

"Or, again, you can spend the weekend here and leave without your stuff."

Jess thought for a moment. _I have to get the things_. "OK, but I want a match with Paul Brunette… for, erm.. for the stuff"

Bill laughed again. "You're not in a position to negotiate. With this developmental contract you will travel around for 6 weeks with the company. You'll get some matches under your belt and we'll see where things take you."

"However," he continued, "If you really want Brunette that quickly, we do have a loophole designed for people wanting to get to the top. If you beat two guy s in the top 20, or one guy in the top 10…. You get a match – not for the title – against the champion. Beat him and you get a championship rematch. It's our way of letting top talent rise fast."

Jess thought for a moment. There was no way he could beat Brunette, fairly anyways, but even if he had a match with him, he could make off with the items if he had a better escape plan. But how to beat one top competitor, much less two? He'd have to have a dream meeting with Leslie to sort this out. But this was his last, best chance to do anything.

"Ok, Bill", Jesse said. "I'll sign your contract. And I want to do that fast-track thing or whatever you call it." Jess signed the paper followed by Bill.

"So, you see, it was all just a part of the show. Very sorry, sheriff, for getting the wrong script to you. But Jess here was part of the plan all along." And with those words from Bill, Jess was released to a very relieved May Belle and Janice.

"You did WHAT?!!! Are you INSANE?!" yelled Janice once they were in the car. "This is not good. People get hurt doing this…" and she continued on and on.

"It'll be ok. We just need a new, improved plan" said May Belle. "Everything always works out, right, Jesse?, she pleaded.

Globe, Arizona was the location of next Tuesday's first show. The unlikely team headed off in the 2000 Buick.


	7. Ch 7 Globe, Arizona

Chapter 7 – Globe, Arizona

Globe is a town of about 6,000 people, about an hour and a half east of Phoenix. Jess and May Belle were happy to be out of the big-city atmosphere of Phoenix, it was just too hectic and noisy compared to what they were used to. Globe was still bigger than Lark Creek, but things were a lot calmer there. The mountain views were really spectacular and Jess got up at sunrise to paint a few of them. He woke up refreshed after a chat with the dream version of Leslie. This Leslie was entirely in Jess's imagination, but was the best way he knew to work through a problem in his mind. She assured him that no matter how badly he got his butt whipped in his first match, that everything would work out fine. Leslie was good at that, taking his fears and making them something they could both chuckle at.

Jess needed the comic relief, too. Having requested a top-20 opponent for his first match, he drew #14-ranked J.J. Ashland. Janice spit out a mouthful of coffee all over a copy of Sports Illustrated when Jess disclosed this to her – and Jess knew it wasn't a good sign. Janice researched everything she could about Ashland but couldn't dream up much of a victory plan for Jess.

"OK, let's see. You're better with… I'd say speed and maybe intell… no, he's really smart too… ok, probably just a speed advantage. Sorry. He's better at ground fighting, punching, aerial and acrobatic stuff, and dirty tricks. He's pretty fearless and debuted when he was 15 years old, throwing himself in front of a much larger wrestler to save his buddy."

"_Great. And he's only #14"_ thought Jess.

Janice taught Jess the basics of a few moves and escapes, but didn't want to confuse him with too many ideas. "Honestly, Jess", Janice confided, "mostly I'm just trying to not get you hurt too badly here." May Belle nodded enthusiastically, that was her goal too.

Jess's mind was usually so good with time. He could make good times seem to stretch out forever and make himself sort of 'zip' through the bad. The looming match was too much, though, and despite his efforts, he could delay its arrival no longer.

So here he was, Jess Oliver Aarons, backstage in a small arena getting ready to get his butt whipped by a professional wrestler. It was a situation where many people would jokingly say "Hey, stranger things have happened", but even Terebitha seemed more reasonable than this. Jess had many years to get to know Terabithia. This had all happened in a matter of days.

Rookies generally hang around by themselves in the backstage area… people know who their friends are and nobody really knows if they can trust a new guy or not. Jess did feel a little more comfortable knowing that he was in the backstage section frequented by the "good guys".

A quiet female voice interrupted him. "Excuse me – you're Jesse Burns, right?"

Jess was stunned. _His pen name from his graphic novel and comics. What was going on?!_

"I, um… how did you…"

"I'm so sorry, the young woman said. Where are my manners, what kind of introduction is this?" She extended her hand and Jess cautiously shook it. "Ariel Jelinsky. Most people just call me A.J. though. I compete in the womens' division … obviously. So what's your real name?"

Jess was still shocked. "Jess Aarons. Pleased to meet you. But how…"

To his surprise, Ariel pulled out a pristine copy of Jess's graphic novel, "Pathways of Terabithia". Jess never considered the now-obvious fact that his self-portrait in the inside back cover could link the writer "Jesse Burns" to the real "Jess Aarons".

"Don't worry, Jess", Ariel said with a smile, "Your secret is safe with me. I love this book though, you have to tell me where you come UP with some of this stuff. I mean this book just unlocks the imagination"

"Well… thanks… Really I just like to draw and I guess I am just pretty creative so…"

Ariel interrupted. "No, this isn't just creative writing. This is so …personal… that's why I love it so much. There must be some very dark places and very wonderful places in that brain to make something like this come to life."

Jess unconsciously shifted his weight from foot to foot as his eyes flickered away from Ariel.

"Sorry again," said Ariel. I just thought talking about something you enjoy might get some of the nerves out before your match.

"Oh, no, I mean thank you, its just that how I write, well"

"It's very personal to you, Jess. And that's what makes you such a beautiful writer." Ariel's voice was subtly changing, becoming softer and melodic. Were there some strange pauses between the words? Jess had a hard time picking that out.

"Maybe you would feel better if you just – sit down – and make yourself comfortable over here. It's really a nice idea to –relax now – if you are going to be 100 ready for your match. Don't – you agree?" asked Ariel?

Jess sat down without even thinking about it. "Yeah, that's a good idea. Thank you." His eyes flickered up to a crystal pendant that Ariel was wearing. It was a multifaceted clear crystal about the size of a golf ball. "That's a fascinating necklace", Jess said.

"Oh, that silly thing?" Ariel smiled broadly. "You can see it if you want. I just like how mysterious it looks." She handed it to Jess and reclasped the necklace so it was like a crystal hanging from a string. "I've found that you can actually – lose yourself in it – when you look into it. The beautiful light, the reflection, it feels like – the rest of the world is floating away –"

Jess's eyes fluttered as he looked at the crystal, and Ariel's voice made him feel like he was floating and sinking at the same time. "You're doing such a good job, Jess. And you know that you really deserve to just – let your mind rest – sometimes, you know? You have a big job ahead of you today and this is just like taking a little vacation, wouldn't you agree?"

"Um-hmm", said Jess in a faraway voice.

"So Jess, now that – you feel so comfortable with me – would you be so kind as to please –tell me all about the history of Terabithia"

Jess's voice was detached but certainly not free from emotion as he recounted almost his entire 4th grade year to Ariel in the condensed span of about 15 minutes. The bullies, the race, Ms. Edmunds, Leslie, the beginnings of Terabithia, _everything_ that happened in Terabithia, the not-yet-recognized love between him and Leslie, her tragic death, May Belle becoming Princess, Jess's on-and-off depression after that.

Ariel was shocked by the level of detail Jess produced so readily for her, and by the end of the 15 minutes Jess was sobbing uncontrollably.

"I'm so sorry I had to do this, Jess. I really and truly am.", she said, as sincerely as she could. Then her voice quickly became crisp and professional. "When I count from one up to five, you will have no memory of this conversation and you will wake up happy, relaxed, and refreshed, full of energy and ready for your match. You will remember only that I enjoyed your book and asked you to autograph it for me.

A.J. was stunned. _Oh my God, I was right. Terabithia is a real place! _She knew she had to play it really cool for a while now. _So easy to discover too. The Teacher was right, when someone lives mostly in their own created world, it is very easy to step into it._

Jess felt a little disoriented but very refreshed. "So you'll sign it, then?" asked A.J. "Oh, right, of course!" said Jess as he happily signed it.

Jess had the opening match of the night. J.J. Ashland entered to ring music that Jess recognized as the Top Gun theme. He had trunks and boots made up to look like a graffiti-covered brick wall. Jess had to remember that design, it was really quite good.

He decided that his only way to have a chance in this match was to try to turn his "fear center" completely off. He ran into the ring with wild abandon and charged Ashland. He landed a surprising number of elbowshots, karate chops, even a punch or two before Ashland ducked and planted Jess's spine on the mat. Even there, though, Jess avoided a pin by rolling out of the ring.

When they were both back in the ring, Jess managed to avoid most of Ashland's offense. But Ashland was a seasoned veteran who knew his time would come. After trying to throw a shoulderblock and stumbling off balance, Ashland stood alongside Jess. What was that Janice had said? "Oh, and never, EVER let him stand directly alongside you". Jess quickly found his opponent's left leg wrapped around his right, felt a sharp jerk backwards, and dimly heard the referee count to three.

"Here is your winner, in a time of 3 minutes, 18 seconds, J.J. ASHLAND!" Ashland smirked and exited the ring while Jess slowly stumbled up to his feet.

_Awesome,_ thought Jess, _now I have to fight someone in the top TEN to get at Brunette…_


	8. Ch 8 The Aftermath

A/N. The cliché of the "dark, evil hypnotist" is an unfortunate thing in Hollywood. In real life, hypnosis is a powerful tool for good and people can't be hypnotized against their will. The hypnosis used in this story is fictional and there is more to it than it first appears, trust me. Now, do you feel ready to –relax now--, enjoy the story, and be sure to –frequently write nice reviews- ? ;)

Chapter 8 – The Aftermath

"Where WERE you, man?!" demanded Apollo of his partner.

_"Why am I even IN a tag match?__"_, Apollo thought, _I'm a 22 time World Heavyweight Champion. __Former champion.__Ex… ex-champion.__ Not even in the top 5 anymore."_

"You're the one who got pinned," explained Janus calmly. "You got beaten by a well-scouted move that hit out of the blue. You should have seen it."

"I'm the one who got pinned. I'M THE ONE WHO GOT PINNED?!" , screamed Apollo. "WE are the one who got pinned. AGAIN!" "This tag team idea was yours. 'Apollo and Janus, The Ancient Gods' – who could stop us, right?"

"Look, we're pretty evenly matched with the Allied Powers. It was a bad break." Janus was trying to stay calm.

"Bad break? How about running into the ring and breaking up the pin? That's always an option when you are a freaking TAG TEAM!"

"Yeah, I know, that's why I broke up two pins earlier in the match for you. Remember? If I did it a third time we'd have been disqualified."

"Well, this sucks. You promised me nine WEEKS AGO that if I just joined forces with you, we would have the gold. Remember? 'Don't worry, Andrew. Just do this my way and everything will work out great'.

"Look, we'll get the championship. But not if we're divided."

"Yeah, fine. See you in New Mexico then," said Apollo, still angry, as his partner walked out the door.

"Hey there, Andy," said a familiar female voice softly. He looked up to see a familiar girl wearing a Harry Potter Ravenclaw T-shirt, and a large crystal pendant on her neck.

"Hello, Ariel," Apollo replied in an irritated sort of voice. "Good match tonight. Glad to see the people I trained at least picking up some wins."

"I'm sorry things have been going the way they have, Andrew, I really am." Ariel sounded sympathetic but then Ariel ALWAYS sounded sympathetic.

"But I've got something to take your mind off what's been going on! I need your help on a little project."

"A little project?", he said doubtfully. "Your projects are never little. "

"The new guy, it's a project about him. It's really important and I think that – you will want to do this –

with me."

Apollo looked back at her with a puzzling expression.

"Look," said Ariel, "You know this 'slump' you are in is just mental. You of all people should know that. Think about how much better it would feel to just –let go – of that negative energy. This project is very important and –you know – that if you just –relax now— things will be so much better.

"Um, Ariel?" Apollo said in a voice that sounded a little bit dreamy.

"Shhhh," said Ariel with a smile. "Just – let me help you now – I can make everything better, I know exactly how to help you and you – just trust me –."

"Ariel!" Apollo suddenly snapped out of the dreamy state while her hypnotic voice continued on. "Ariel. Zip it for a second!"

She looked up. "What?"

"Um, yeah. Do you remember, my friend, that we're both highly skilled hypnotists?"

"Of course I do! That's why you _of all people_ should know how important it is to –let me help you now- to get out of this slump. Remember how well _your_ hypnosis worked to help me over come my fears after that injury?"

"Ariel! Look. Sorry – didn't mean to yell." Apollo toned it down a bit. "I'm going to get through this problem, _by myself_, and that's all there is to it. And I'm having enough problems right now on my own that I don't need to take on your project with the rookie. Even though I'm impressed that he lasted over 3 minutes."

"But, Andrew, please." Ariel was holding out. She _had_ to get through to him. She was one of his best "in the business" friends since he discovered her and convinced her to try out for a roster spot.

Her background in acrobatics made her an ideal competitor, and she had come close to winning the women's championship twice. She was a great friend but.. _wow_ could she be annoying . Nothing seemed to really ever phase her emotionally. How did she _do_ that? _Should I have ever brought her to the Teacher for hypnosis training?_ He wondered sometimes.

"A.J., no. Whatever it is – you are more than capable of doing whatever you want to with this kid. Good, bad, or ugly, he will do whatever you want if you put your mind to it. Make him bark like a dog and cluck like a chicken. I don't care. I'll be at the hotel bar later if you want to chat. See 'ya!"

Apollo moped his way into his rental Lincoln Town Car and drove off. Jess Aarons, the rookie, might be important to him in a couple years' time but certainly not now. He'd just go have a couple of drinks and forget about tonight's tag loss and go to bed. At least he had an easy match on the next card.

Ariel stood there frustrated as Apollo walked out the door. _Boys!_ Ariel thought indignantly. _If only there was a woman I could use for this job it would be so much easier. They know how to communicate and don't put up brick walls around themselves._

Ariel went back to her hotel in her rental Prius hybrid. She bypassed the hotel bar, uninterested in hearing her friend tell the bartender how awful things are going. She watched some Disney channel for a while and deliberately waited until about 1:00 AM, (2:00 in Houston), to pick up her cell phone.

"Hello? Rico? Yeah, it's A.J."

"Oh, I woke you up?" Ariel smiled into her phone. "No no. Nothing urgent. I am so, so sorry, I thought you were a night owl. Just – slide back under the covers – it will feel –so, so good – doesn't it? I'm so proud of your great match last week and I'm sure the people would love to have you –visit us in New Mexico…"

_The hypnotist always wins_, the Teacher had said. _You just have to know how to mix up your tactics._

Ariel couldn't sleep, hypnotizing people always kind of recharged her brain. She pulled out her laptop and played a $100 online poker tournament. Sixty-three minutes later she was $500 richer and finally went to sleep. _Maybe I should quit wrestling, I make just as much at poker with no injury risk._

Lucid dreams of a magical world quickly filled her head, and she set off to explore, accompanied as always by a smaller, silent figure in a dark hooded robe. They joined hands as they crossed the bridge and Ariel explained her plans to him.


	9. Ch 9 with match details

Chapter 9 – Lordsburg, New Mexico

A/N: There is a lot of wrestling content in this chapter. There is an alternate version of this chapter you can read with EXACTLY the same storyline if you don't want all the details of the wrestling matches. I wanted to do this because I realize that in the normal world, the universe of BtT fans and wrestling fans probably don't cross over that much.

Jess, Janice, and May Belle were certainly getting more than they bargained for. But it was comfortable out on the road, and Jess's graphic novel royalties combined with his new wrestling income was keeping them in decent hotels and eating decent food. Strange mix of towns they were visiting, though. They were basically working back east from Phoenix.

Jess knew that he didn't have all summer to get the objects. He was getting uncomfortable vibes during his dream visits to Terabithia. There was a risk that the Dark Master would get some of his power back during Jess's absence – but deep down Jess knew that to return without the objects would be even worse.

He had two days to get ready. Then on Friday, he would have to wrestle someone in the top ten of the rankings. The thought made his eggs and English muffin much less appetizing.

"Wow, this is a great break!" exclaimed Janice. "Check this out from the rulebook." _She had the wrestling rulebook?! _ "Ok. If you do the top 20 challenge, 2 are picked for you at random. But you lost. So you're doing the top 10 challenge. You can PICK your opponent in this. You're so lucky!"

"I don't understand why this is a big deal. So I pick who wipes the floor with my butt."

"We can at least maximize your small chance for winning. Maybe find someone who has a bad temper and you could get him to get disqualified. A win is a win. Ok, let's look at the top ten contenders."

"General Patterson. Forget it, he 's #1. Apollo, he's on a monster slump but – no, he would beat you pretty bad. Then we have Harris, Birley… hey, Birley? No, he'd tie you up in a knot."

_This is pretty great for the self-esteem_, thought Jess, rolling his eyes.

"Sid, no way. T.W. Jones… hmm… nope. Hunter Green, way too powerful. Lane Schultz… hmm… yeah, I think so.

"Wait a minute," asked Jess, "Isn't Lane Schultz that really big guy with the background in real amateur wrestling?"

"Yeah. Don't get me wrong – you are the underdog against any of these. But here's why he's your best pick."

Janice laid out a plan so good that Jess thought for a minute he might get lucky and beat this guy. "Keep moving" – Lane's weakness was cardiovascular endurance. "Talk trash" – Jess wasn't used to doing this but Janice gave some pointers. "Remember – if he gets so mad that he does an illegal move, you win the match." _Great.__ He will rip my head clean off my shoulders, but get disqualified and I win the match._ And remember, don't EVER let him hook on to both your arms at the same time.

They also had the luxury of two days to practice for the match. Janice showed him some basic holds and escapes. May Belle was mostly praying that Jess wouldn't get killed Friday night.

Jess again failed to slow time down, and he was backstage waiting for his match. His chosen opponent was a big enough deal that they would go third that evening instead of being the opening match.

Apollo opened the card and you could tell he was very upset about being in the opening match. The crowd cheered him but he seemed lethargic. He won convincingly against a guy named "The Missionary" but didn't seem to have any fun.

A.J. wrestled next. She was fun to watch. She must have done two somersaults in the air before landing on her much bigger opponent and beating her in less than five minutes.

Then – Jess's turn. Since it wasn't his first match he got to have theme music and everything.

Don't wanna wait til tomorrow,

Why put it off another day?

One more walk through problems,

Built up, and stand in our way ,ah

It was a good song choice. "Right Now" always got him pumped up and for a moment, as the crowd of 1800 cheered him, he really felt like he could do this.

A moment later, the Top Gun music started playing again. Lane Schultz was also in the Bad Dudes, the same group as J.J. Ashland who crushed Jess just 3 days ago. But years in Terabithia removed most of the fear from Jess. Most of it – but the sight of this guy who outweighed him by 90 pounds was still unnerving. Making things worse, J.J. Ashland came right to the ring with Lane. The ref warned Ashland that any try at interfering would cost Lane the match.

As he prepared to enter the ring, something very strange happened. Something that looked like lightning started to flash across the room as the music changed to "Thunderstruck" by AC/DC. The crowd went positively nuts as two guys started walking down to the ring. One of them was huge with long hair and a long beard. He must have been about 400 pounds. The other wasn't even 200 pounds. He was a Spanish guy wearing leather pants and a leather jacket with no shirt.

The big guy got on the microphone. "That's right, folks, Lightning has struck tonight right here in LORDSBURG!!!" (Crowds always go nuts when you say their city). Tonight, I will be on an official scouting mission, watching the match and minding my own business. And Rico will be joining the announcers and sharing his commentary!

The big guy's name must have been Wilson because the crowd was chanting his name as he pulled up a folding chair and had a seat outside the ring. J.J. Ashland seemed very intimidated by this.

Jesse followed the plan when the bell rang. He tore into Lane, hit him with several fists and chops, then ducked out of the ring. He slid back in, ducked a punch, and drove a knee into Lane's abdomen. Lane was in a little bit of trouble! Jess went to work attacking Lane's right leg and knee. "Limit his mobility", Janice had urged.

They were five minutes into the match now. Lane was having trouble finding any rhythm – though Jess didn't really seem to have hurt him much either. Lane's frustration was building every time Jess ducked a move. It seemed to make Lane swing even more wildly and Jess could get another few hits in. By the ten minute mark, Jess got the feeling he was _winning_.

Just like Ashland, though, Lane Schultz had a lot of experience to draw on. Jess's attacks, though annoying, were very predictable. Lane stepped aside as Jess tried to kick his knee, and Jess hit the mat. Lane dropped his elbow on Jess three times, using his full 275 pounds, and Jess was in trouble. Lane put Jess in the corner and started driving his shoulder into Jess's abdomen over and over again. The end had to be near.

Suddenly there was a great commotion outside the ring. Wilson, the big guy, had leveled J.J. Ashland on the outside of the ring. The referee turned to see what was going on. "I swear Ashland tried to hit me! IT was self-defense!" yelled Wilson, as he launched into a detailed explanation of what happened.

Lane Schultz, though upset that his teammate was laid out, knew he could win the match first and then take care of Wilson. He turned towards the referee to get his attention. He never even knew that Rico had left the announcer's table and was now perched on the top rope. From behind, Rico flew 15 feet through the air, grabbing Lane's head and driving it into the mat, quickly rolling out while the referee was arguing with Wilson.

A groggy and confused Jess Owens crawled over to his now-fallen opponent and laid across him while the referee counted to three. The crowd erupted as Rico and Wilson (better known as Thunder and Lightning) quickly retreated from the ring.

_I won my shot at Paul Brunette! Did I cheat, though? I guess not, I mean I didn't ask them for the help. Oh well. I'm not here to win matches anyways – just get those objects and get back home._

Bill J. Radinz, the CEO of the wrestling promotion, grabbed a microphone near the back of the arena. "Congratulations, Mr. Aarons. You will have a non-title match against Paul Brunette one week from Sunday, at 'Reunited', our pay-per-view event in El Paso, Texas."

The crowd was beside itself. Paul Brunette also smiled in his private champion's dressing room. _Yes! Another major event where I don't have to defend the championship! How am I getting away with this? It's almost too easy._

As Jess was getting ready to leave the arena, he heard Ariel's melodic voice again. "Congratulations, Jesse. I can call you Jesse, right?" "You're the big star and you deserve to celebrate!" Though he felt like he just got run over by a truck, he hopped into Ariel's car along with Jess and May Belle to head off to the "good guys' party" at a local club.


	10. ch 9 without match details

Chapter 9 – Lordsburg, New Mexico

A/N: In this version I kept the wrestling details to a minimum. The other version of chapter 9 is the exact same storyline but with more of the wrestling match details.

Jess, Janice, and May Belle were certainly getting more than they bargained for. But it was comfortable out on the road, and Jess's graphic novel royalties combined with his new wrestling income was keeping them in decent hotels and eating decent food. Strange mix of towns they were visiting, though. They were basically working back east from Phoenix.

Jess knew that he didn't have all summer to get the objects. He was getting uncomfortable vibes during his dream visits to Terabithia. There was a risk that the Dark Master would get some of his power back during Jess's absence – but deep down Jess knew that to return without the objects would be even worse.

He had two days to get ready. Then on Friday, he would have to wrestle someone in the top ten of the rankings. The thought made his eggs and English muffin much less appetizing.

"Wow, this is a great break!" exclaimed Janice. "Check this out from the rulebook." _She had the wrestling rulebook?! _ "Ok. If you do the top 20 challenge, 2 are picked for you at random. But you lost. So you're doing the top 10 challenge. You can PICK your opponent in this. You're so lucky!"

"I don't understand why this is a big deal. So I pick who wipes the floor with my butt."

"We can at least maximize your small chance for winning. Maybe find someone who has a bad temper and you could get him to get disqualified. A win is a win. Ok, let's look at the top ten contenders."

Janice went down the list of contenders. All of them were really good. But Janice decided that #9 Lane Schultz was the best chance for Jess. He was a big guy and very strong, but he sometimes made mistakes, or used an illegal move and got disqualified.

They also had two days to practice for the match. Janice showed him some basic holds and escapes. May Belle was mostly praying that Jess wouldn't get killed Friday night.

Jess again failed to slow time down, and he was backstage waiting for his match. His chosen opponent was a big enough deal that they would go third that evening instead of being the opening match.

Jess's match came up so quickly, after a short and uninspired match Apollo won, then an exciting womens' match won by Ariel Jelinsky.

Then – Jess's turn. Since it wasn't his first match anymore, he got a nice new blue and gold ring outfit and could enter to theme music.

Don't wanna wait til tomorrow,

Why put it off another day?

One more walk through problems,

Built up, and stand in our way ,ah

It was a good song choice. "Right Now" was another one of those Van Halen songs that got him pumped up and for a moment, as the crowd of 1800 cheered him, he really felt like –just maybe - he could do this.

A moment later, the Top Gun music started playing again. Lane Schultz was also in the Bad Dudes, the same group as J.J. Ashland who crushed Jess just 3 days ago. Jess was concerned that Lane's partner, J.J. Ashland, came right to the ring with Lane. The ref warned Ashland that any try at interfering would cost Lane the match.

As he prepared to enter the ring, something very strange happened. Something that looked like lightning started to flash across the room as the music changed to "Thunderstruck" by AC/DC. The crowd went positively nuts as two guys started walking down to the ring. One of them was huge with long hair and a long beard. He must have been about 400 pounds. The other wasn't even 200 pounds. He was a Spanish guy wearing leather pants and a leather jacket with no shirt.

The big guy was Wilson and the smaller guy was Rico, better known as Thunder and Lightning. A popular team with the fans who weren't expecting them tonight. Wilson grabbed a microphone and said "Hey, don't worry, just scouting future opponents here!" and grabbed a seat by the ring. Rico went by the announcers, put on a headset, and joined them.

Jesse followed the plan when the bell rang. He tore into Lane, hit him with several fists and chops, then ducked out of the ring. He tried to attack Lane's right leg and knee to limit his ability, just like Janice had said. He was doing well! Lane didn't seem to get into much of a rhythm. _Could I actually be winning?!_ thought Jess.

Lane Schultz was too good, though, and eventually turned the tide. Lane dropped his elbow on Jess three times, using his full 275 pounds, and Jess was in trouble. Lane put Jess in the corner and started driving his shoulder into Jess's abdomen. The end had to be near.

Suddenly there was a great commotion outside the ring. Wilson, the big guy, had leveled J.J. Ashland on the outside of the ring. In the commotion, Rico quickly entered the _other_ side of the ring, flew 15 feet through the air, and drove Lane's head into the mat. Then Rico and Wilson suddenly left the ring.

A groggy and confused Jess Owens crawled over to his now-fallen opponent and laid across him while the referee counted to three. The crowd erupted as Rico and Wilson (better known as Thunder and Lightning) quickly dashed out of the arena.

_I won a shot at Paul Brunette!_ though Jess. _But did I cheat? I guess not, I didn't ASK them to help. Who were those guys? Why did they take out Lane?_

Bill J. Radinz, the CEO of the wrestling promotion, grabbed a microphone near the back of the arena. "Congratulations, Mr. Aarons. You will have a non-title match against Paul Brunette one week from Sunday, at 'Reunited',our pay-per-view event in El Paso, Texas."

The crowd was beside itself. Paul Brunette also smiled in his private champion's dressing room. _Yes! Another major event where I don't have to defend the championship! How am I getting away with this? It's almost too easy._

As Jess was getting ready to leave the arena, he heard Ariel's melodic voice again. "Congratulations, Jesse. I can call you Jesse, right?" "You're the one everyone's talking about and you deserve to celebrate!" Though he felt like he just got run over by a truck, he hopped into Ariel's car along with Jess and May Belle to head off to the "good guys' party" at a local club.


	11. Ch 10 Fight of his Life

Chapter 10 – The fight of his life

A/N. This chapter contains the most terrible thing I think anyone could possibly do to Jess Aarons. No disrespect is intended to anyone the original book may be based off of.

In the days leading up to El Paso, Ariel had been spending more and more time with Jess. Janice and May Belle didn't quite know what to make of it but somehow always seemed to feel very comfortable and relaxed around her. And Jesse knew that, whatever her motives, anything she could teach him about the wrestling business would be very valuable in the days leading up to him fighting Paul Brunette.

_Nobody needs to know that I just plan to show up to that non-title match, and make off with the objects. Win, lose, or draw. I just need one more chance to get close to him._

And nobody did know that was the plan. Except, of course, for Ariel Jelinsky. She couldn't let on that she knew his plan, though. She had to go about her plans in an indirect way.

_He needs to win those objects from Paul all by himself. That's the only way he will be their true owner. I played my part to get him there, now it's his turn. I can't interfere here. But I can still prepare him well. Then later, it's time for _my_ plan. n_

So, Ariel and Janice became a sort of team in preparing Jess for the match. Janice would teach him more of the "rougher" side of wrestling where Ariel tried to teach him some grace, flexibility, and creativity. He was amazed by how deceptively strong Ariel was. He felt like she was going to break him in half with some of the stretching exercises she put him through. But it was nothing he couldn't handle. And he had to admit, just a few days of intense training was making him more confident if nothing else.

Most interesting, though, was the mental training Ariel gave him. She had such a way with words even when she wasn't hypnotizing people. When she told Jess to close his eyes, her words painted such a vivid picture of him walking into the ring and winning matches, he began to feel like he was really winning. Ariel took Jesse through many imaginary matches with Paul Brunette and Jesse began to feel like he faced this guy many times before._ What was it about this girl?_, he wondered? She could make him feel like anything was possible, even beating the World Heavyweight Champion.

So Jess Oliver Aarons felt as good as one reasonably could going into the arena that Sunday to prepare for his match, that would be last on the card. Even though the title was not on the line, the champion being in the match made it a main event (which was worth an extra $1,500 to Jess). Saying his goodbyes to May Belle and Janice, he walked to the backstage area and had a couple glasses of water. Jess went to the "good guy mens'" locker room while Ariel went to the "good guy ladies'" locker room and both of them watched the early matches on the monitor.

Jess, of course, didn't know what he was looking for exactly. He recognized a few guys… J.J. Ashland and Lane Schultz teamed up together to easily defeat Thunder and Lightning (the guys who had helped him last week). Apollo won an exciting match against a guy named The Missionary, but stormed out of the ring disgusted with himself despite the win.

Best of all, Ariel Jelinsky realized her dream that night, coming back from a pounding at the hands of Shirley Tucker. Out of nowhere she landed a kick right to Shirley's head, flew to the top rope, and did an aerial somersault as she lept onto Shirley's prone body. Three seconds later she was holding the Women's World Championship for the first time in her career. Jess couldn't help but smile. _Will two dreams come true tonight? Here goes nothing! _he thought.

Then it was time. Jess made his way down to the ring to the sounds of "Right Now" by Van Halen. He saw May Belle and Janice sitting in the front row and knew Ariel would be watching intently on the monitors backstage.

Paul Brunette came down to the ring, again with his partner John Kujo. But to Jess's delight (and the crowd's), the referee kicked Kujo out of the ringside area! _I might not be the favorite here but at least it's going to be one-on-one now._, thought Jess.

The two locked up in the center of the ring and neither man seemed to get an advantage. Paul was stronger but Jess kept twisting out of any grip Paul would try to apply. Things were at a standstill, and in fact the crowd started chanting "boo-riiing" at a couple of points. Neither of them cared though – Jess wasn't really there to wrestle and Paul was used to being jeered.

Jess made a mistake, charging into the corner of the ring to nail his "dazed" opponent, who was playing possum. Paul sprung into action, nailing Jess with fists and elbows. He started to pick up Jess to use his dreaded "Heartbreaker" move but Jess was just able to slide out of the ring and escape.

Undeterred by this (Ariel had guided him through this exact situation in his mind during their training), Jess slid in back under the ring rope sluggishly. He knew Paul would charge in and try to kick him back out of the ring, so he ducked, causing Paul to land flat on his back. Jess swung into action. He nailed Paul with chops and kicks, slammed him to the mat, and dropped his elbow into Paul's chest.

Paul tried to roll out of the ring but Jess knew that was coming. He pulled Paul back in by the legs and shocked the arena by locking Paul into a figure-four leglock. If he had it on right, Paul would have only two choices – give up, or pass out from the pain. And Jess had it on correctly, right in the middle of the ring as Paul screamed and reached for the ring ropes that were just a bit too far away.

Jess was probably only about 30 seconds from making Paul concede the match when he saw the most shocking thing ever in his 22 years.

There was a huge screen above the ramp which suddenly switched from showing the match to a picture of Terabithia from Jess's comic book. Yet another Van Halen song, very familiar to Jess, began to play.

_Then simply pulls a string _

_Another world, some other time _

_You lay your sanity on the line _

_Familiar faces familiar sights _

_Reach back remember with all your might _

_Ohh there she stands in a silken gown _

_Silver lights shining down_

As the chorus "Love comes walking in" hit, he saw a girl – no, a woman his age walking towards the ring in a blue sundress and black combat boots. He ran through his usual checks to see if he was dreaming or not – but he knew this was real.

_Leslie Burke is alive, and she is walking towards me. And she looks exactly like I imagined she would. It's like the pages of my comic came to life._

Immediately forgetting about the match, he released Paul from the leglock and walked to the ring where Leslie was walking up the steps. He got within a foot of her when he finally realized something was wrong. "Leslie's" wig was mismatched just a little bit and Jess knew he'd been had. "I'm so sorry," whispered the fake Leslie as she took two steps backwards.

To a professional wrestler, a gift of time, even 15 seconds, is an eternity that changes outcomes. Paul had more than enough time to limp up to his feet, sneak up behind Jess, spin him around, pick him up, and drive his knee deep into Jess's chest as he dropped him. Paul made an easy pin as his theme music started to play.

Paul grabbed a microphone. "Stop the music!" he shouted. Jess was still on the floor, stunned both mentally and physically at what happened over the last minute. Not content to just beat Jess, Paul decided to taunt him. "What's the matter, Jess? Oooh, did little Jesse think his dead girlfriend came back to him? Your head is so far in the clouds that you don't even know what end is up. You don't belong in the same ring or the same building as me. Paul gave the prone Jess an extra couple of stomps for good measure. "Hit the other music!" ordered Paul.

And to the disgust of all but three people in the arena, the song "I just died in your arms" by Cutting Crew began to play as Paul was joined laughing in the ring by his partner, Paul Kujo.

As Jess lay there hurt, stunned, and horrified by the roller-coaster he was just put through, Ariel Jelinsky was sobbing hysterically in the back. _Jess wasn't supposed to get hurt. I had this all planned out. He was just going to get me the objects I needed, I'd erase his memory, and we'd all move on in life. Where did I go wrong?_, she thought helplessly for one of the first times in her life.

Something very different happened in the men's locker room. Apollo had been watching the match relatively bored, having just changed and showered. But when he saw the ending, the Heartbreakers taunting this kid with memories of some long-lost friend, he snapped.

As Paul Brunette and John Kujo celebrated in the middle of the ring, an enraged Apollo raced down the rampway in his street clothes. In a blind rage he entered the ring and began attacking Paul and John at the same time, fighting off the two men and tossing them around like they were rag dolls. By the time security guards made it to the ring, Apollo had already left the two men dazed and bloody. He walked past Jess Aarons on his way out of the ring, saying nothing _(What can you say in this situation?, _he wondered), and marched to the back with a cold gleam of satisfaction on his face.

Ariel Jelinsky composed herself and rushed down to the ring towards Jesse as Paul and John were being helped by paramedics. She approached Jess but he didn't want anything to do with her. "Get AWAY from me This is all your fault!! "screamed Jess as he sprinted to the backstage area.

Ariel found a terrifying sight when she made her way backstage. Jess was on a rampage. Blind with anger, he was tearing apart everything in sight. The TV monitors lay smashed on the floor, a refrigerator was overturned, and two wooden chairs were splintered. _People are going to get badly hurt, _concluded Ariel,_ and it __will__ be all my fault. _She wracked her brain for a technique to fix this situation.

Suddenly she knew what to do. She breathed in deeply and in the most authorative voice she had ever produced, screamed "JESSE AARONS, YOU WILL –STOP IMMEDIATELY AND FREEZE!"

Jess didn't know why but he was suddenly frozen in place, but the rage he hadn't felt in 11 years pounded through his veins like poison.

Ariel jumped in front of the surprised Jess, stood on tiptoe to look him deep in the eye, and jerked his arm forward as she yelled "SLEEP!" She put his arms around him as he slumped forward and cradled him gently to the ground. _Now what do I say, though?_ Ariel racked her brain.

Nobody involved in this whirlwind of drama heard CEO Bill J. Radinz come into the ring and make an amazing announcement to conclude the pay per view.

"Paul Brunette, this is the most disgusting thing I have ever seen in my life. You may have won that match but I don't care. In three weeks time you will defend your World Championship against three men."

_Paul's jaw hit the floor. Champions rarely kept their titles in this kind of match! The odds were against him!_

"You will face Jess Aarons as your penalty for this disgusting trick you pulled. Also in the match will be Lane Schultz – he deserves a fair rematch at Aarons without anyone interfering. Finally… based on what I've seen tonight… the fourth competitor in the match will be…."

"APOLLO!" The crowd went ballistic as the house lights turned on to signal the end of the show.


	12. Ch 11: Three Weeks to Prepare

Chapter 11 – Three weeks to prepare

"_For better or worse,"_ thought Jess, "_the four of us are a team now."_ He still wasn't sure what to think about Ariel, but he needed someone around who really understood the inner workings of the wrestling business if he was going to be able to compete against Paul Brunette again. Life on the road wasn't all that bad. This trip, originally just to the Grand Canyon with May Belle, had become something much more as days extended into weeks. _What a story I'll have to tell my kids someday._

Jess knew through his dream visits that the Terabithians were doing fine, though the skirmishes on the northern border with the Unknown Woods had been steadily increasing. The Dark Master had vanished years ago in the midst of the Second Terabithian War, and the Unknown Woods was the last refuge of those allied with him. Over the years Jess and May Belle came to learn that the Terabithians were much better off with strong generals and leaders, than needing to see their King and Queen on a daily basis. They loved Terabithia dearly though, and this was the longest they had been physically away from their special place.

They took time to see the sights as they traveled around Texas, Oklahoma, and Kansas, but Ariel always kept them on track. Two hours of grueling physical training per day was her absolute minimum requirement for Jess. The only redeeming thing was that her mental rehearsal afterwards left him so relaxed his body didn't hurt anymore.

Jess had the option of wrestling about 3 times per week, but only took about one match per week, against lower-ranked competitors, just to tune his skills. (Ariel had to wrestle more often, since she was now the Ladies' champion.) Jess easily beat Tim Joiner, wrestled to a draw in a tough match against the much larger Scott Colton, and got Patrick Hamilton to give up just before the time limit expired. Combined with his earlier results, his ranking fluctuated between #15 and #20. And Janice was always reminding him that Paul Brunette himself was never in the top ten before somehow winning it all.

Jess got another break, as Janice explained. "Ok, so this starts as an elimination match with the four of you. When a guy is pinned he goes back to the locker room and it's a 3-way match. Then another person goes out and it's 2 way. That actually favors you with your better endurance."

_She's been right so far_, thought Jess.

"It gets better. After you make the final two... it becomes a ladder match."

_AFTER I make the final 2? Gotta love her confidence!_

" See… the crown and stuff as well as the championship belt will be suspended above the ring. First person to set up the ladder and climb to the top is the Champion. Oh yeah, and the King too," continued Janice. "And when you get to the ladder part, you should easily get up there faster than anyone, especially if it comes down to you and Lane Schultz in the end. You can actually WIN this thing, Jess!"

"I'm in complete agreement!" said Ariel very happily.

"Well, if the rest of you agree, then I guess I do too," said May Belle.

The four continued to work their way down Highway 59 into Houston. They knew as soon as they saw the skyline that Jess's big test was upon him. Jess and Ariel each checked into their rooms at the Renaissance Hotel (main-event people got better hotel accommodations and they were paid for by the league.)

Jess was far too nervous to sleep, so he called A.J. on the hotel phone at about 1:00.

"Can you do that… you know, voice thing that relaxes me so much?" asked Jess?

"I'd be delighted!" said Ariel. _This is my favorite thing to do in the world…_

Ariel's melodic voice quickly wove Jess into a story where was flying free as a bird above the clouds. The sensation was so wonderful and so realistic that he was blissfully unaware of anything else until his alarm clock rang at 9:30… light as a feather and ready for the biggest fight of his life.


	13. Ch 12: The Biggest Night

Chapter 12 – The Biggest Night

_So it's time_, thought Jess. _My shot at Paul, and the last time I ever have to get into the ring._

And Jess Oliver Aarons was ready. As ready as he could be for the bizarre circumstances he found himself in. Just seven weeks ago he had embarked on a trip to the Grand Canyon to celebrate his college graduation and his sister's high school graduation. It was supposed to be a weeklong trip.

Since then, Jess had traveled about 3,500 extra miles, been on the road 7 extra weeks, and earned about six thousand dollars as a professional wrestler. But all he knew is that he needed to win tonight. He had to get Paul Brunette's stuff back to Terabithia. He didn't really know _why_. His royal garb appeared on him automatically when he went to Terabithia and vanished when he left. He and Ariel never really spoke about the importance of the objects but the more time he spent with her, the more important he knew it was to get them.

Jess couldn't even watch the other matches, except for a brief glimpse of Ariel's match. She was so beautiful to watch in the ring as she flew through the air. He wondered why she chose this profession to exhibit her physical skills, rather than a purely artistic one like acrobatics or dancing. Jess smiled when Ariel picked up an easy win in a tag-team match and got back to match strategy with Janice.

Where Ariel had trained his body for the past three weeks, Janice Avery was teaching him a detailed strategy. She went over the basics one final time.

"Now, Jess. Remember. It's not a team match. All four of you are fighting each other. So a lot of this is psychological. If at any time three of you decided to gang up on the fourth, he'd be out immediately."

Jess nodded.

"This is going to shake out at first with Lane and Paul lining up together. They are both bad guys but Paul will turn on him if he thinks he can get the win. You and Apollo are going to work together and you can probably trust him. It's beneficial for him to keep you around because he will think you are the softest competition for the ladder match in the final two."

"Thanks for the vote of confidence", said Jess, with fake sarcasm.

"It's true. But… he's wrong. He doesn't know about all the ladder training you've been doing with Ariel. All you have to do is not let him get any shots in. He'll go for the ladder and you can just knock him off balance and race up it before he recovers. You're going to be the World Heavyweight Champion, Jess!"

_I have been the King of a magical world since I was eleven years old, _thought Jess, _and THIS is the most bizarre thing I have ever experienced._

And so the match began. Jess Aarons came out first to the sounds of "Right Now" by Van Halen, and was pleased by a pretty good crowd reaction. He knew when it came right down to it that the crowd would be solidly behind their hero Apollo, though. _And which Apollo will it be? The depressed guy who I am pretty sure I can take, or the living legend Janice owns an action figure of?_

Lane Schultz came down to the ring to the "Top Gun" theme looking pretty angry. The crowd booed and jeered. Jess knew that he should not have beaten Lane by any stretch of the imagination. Only the interference – the cheating by those two strange guys – made Jess win. There was no use telling Lane it wasn't his idea. It didn't feel right but it wasn't his fault. "A win is a win," Ariel had told him. And if it got him to this point, that must be the way things were supposed to be.

Next was Paul Brunette, to "Every Breath You Take" by The Police. His eyes were shifty and he was nervous. He didn't have his trusty sidekick and partner, John Kujo. The CEO had banned all partners from the ring area. Jess knew he should not be in the ring with just the two bad guys at any time, so he slid out of the ring and waited.

Finally, Apollo's grand entrance. The lights dimmed as blue searchlights fluttered around the arena. A deep, dark voice boomed over the loudspeaker, its words displayed on the huge screens around the arena.

"A hero – lost in the depths of his mind."

"A legend, who set off on a quest that was not his own"

"A warrior, ready to reclaim his destiny."

"Ladies and Gentlemen… APOLLLLLLLLLLOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!"

The crowd exploded as a solemn, determined Apollo marched to the ring in his trademark blue and white. _So much for the depressed, weakened, washed-up star theory_, Jess thought nervously.

And the match began. Janice was right. Apollo gravitated towards Jess and Paul worked with Lane Schultz. The two pairs had a tense standoff before Apollo ran over and started nailing Paul Brunette with a ferocious barrage of knees, elbows, and punches. Jess briefly had the idea of double-teaming Paul when Lane Schultz roughly picked him up and threw him over the top rope to the outside. Jess landed on his feet, somewhat surprised.

He had an interesting thought. _Why get back in the ring?_ Four-way matches didn't have the traditional rules about countouts, right? He could watch these three guys weaken each other. It wouldn't be cowardice, just smart strategy.

So Jess stayed outside as Apollo basically fought two men and got the better of it. Lane was slumped in one corner as Apollo dazed Paul Brunette with a kick to the head, picked him up, and charged into the corner, driving Paul spine-first into the other corner. He was clearly in control.

Apollo ran into the other corner, doing a baseball-type feet-first slide right into Lane Schultz's head. It looked like the end was near for BOTH guys.

But he had done_ too_ good of a job. As he tried to pick up the larger, slumping Lane in the corner, Paul Brunette got back up and nailed Apollo from behind. As Lane slowly came to, he joined in the assault. Apollo was down to one knee and no longer keeping up with both guys.

Jess decided to seize the opportunity. He climbed to the top rope on the far side of the ring and launched himself through the air, hitting Paul Brunette from behind with an elbow and basically crashing onto the top of the 3-man pile. He probably took something out of each guy and was refreshed from his rest outside the ring.

Apollo, the least dazed of the three, took advantage of the situation to nail Lane with a DDT, driving his head into the mat. He got a two-count, almost beating Lane right there. Meanwhile, Brunette attempted the "Heartbreaker" move against Jess. Jess had it well scouted from his visualization exercises with Ariel, and ended up behind Paul. He pulled Paul's shoulders back, making Paul's back land on Jess's knees. Paul was in serious trouble when Jess applied the figure-four leglock.

Lane now had a decision to make. Save Paul and work together with him, or let him lose to be down to three men. After a moment's thought, Lane dove onto the trapped champion, who was still in Jess's leglock, and pinned him.

"Paul Brunette has been ELIMINATED!!!!!", boomed the ring announcer. They were down to three men now.

Apollo looked intensely at Jess. Jess look back at Apollo and they both nodded.

The two men together bounced Lane off the far side ropes. As his momentum carried him running back at this temporary team, Apollo clotheslined him while Lane drove a shoulderblock into his knee. Apollo bounced him off the ropes again, slammed him to the mat, and rolled through into a bridge. It was his patented Titanplex and Lane couldn't escape the pin.

"Lane Schultz has been ELIMINATED!!! The match is now a ladder match until one person retrieves the championship belt and the royal garb!"

Sensing his opportunity, Jess was already outside the ring with the ladder. Before Apollo was even done with the pin, Jess nearly had the ladder set up and scrambled for the top. Two forearms to Jess's back at the last minute by Apollo prevented Jess from scoring a quick upset win.

Apollo got the better of the exchanges with Jess but even he was frustrated by Jess's speed. A full fifteen minutes went by and Apollo was getting more winded than Jess. Jess suddenly remembered Janice's voice in his ear. "This is wrestling. It's not a nice-guy contest and you have to WIN this match. Whatever you do in a ladder match is legal, that means it's not cheating".

Jess surprised Apollo with a well-timed kick to the head. Arial's flexibility workouts had paid off. Jess grabbed the ladder, folded it back up, and charged into Apollo with the ladder.

Bleeding slightly, Apollo slumped in the corner. Jess repeated the baseball slide move that Apollo earlier used on Lane. Jess knew that he had the fifteen seconds he needed now.

Quickly, Jess rushed with the ladder to the center of the ring and put it up. Locking the side supports in for balance, he cautiously made his way up. _No point tipping the ladder now, I've got this. _The crowd was wild over the shocking upset they were going to see. Jess reached the second rung from the top and his fingertips brushed against the gold championship belt. He strained up on his tiptoes, felt a flash of pain, and everything went black. He heard a faraway voice saying, almost in slow motion, "Hell of a match, kid. But it's not your time yet."

Apollo threw down the chair he had used to nail Jess Aarons with. He easily climbed the ladder while Jess made a vain attempt to get back to his feet. He grabbed the World Championship belt and fastened it around his waist while still on the ladder.

As he reached for the royal clothing which was hanging from the other ring, Ariel Jelinsky appeared on the TV monitor.

"Apollo! Wait!", she yelled.

"You know that two destinies – must be fulfilled tonight – think about it?"

He thought for a moment, with one eye on Jess so he didn't get up.

"Your father was the king, and he didn't even LIKE the gimmick. And – you know I am right – those other things belong somewhere else. Your destiny is fulfilled, champion! You don't have to pile on here."

"Do the right thing, you _have_ to," pleaded Ariel. She wasn't even using her hypnotic voice.

Somehow, her turning off the hypnotic voice made Apollo trust that Ariel knew this was important. He climbed down from the ladder, helped Jess up to his feet, and pointed to the royal garb. Jess was wobbly but Apollo held the ladder for him. Jess was suspicious but he thought _If he wanted to stop me, he already had me stopped._

Five seconds later, Jess had the royal garb in hand. The ring announcer was somewhat confused and turned to the referee for direction.

"Ladies and gentlemen! We have a split result. Your winner, and new World Heavyweight Champion, APOLLO!!!!"

"And your new King, King Jesse Aarons!"

The two hugged briefly in the center of the ring and headed back to the ring together. They didn't see Ariel Jelinsky sobbing with relief. _I was SO close to failing Brian for a second time, _she thought. But she composed herself quickly and greeted both Jesse and Apollo with enthusiastic smiles and hugs.

Now there was only one thing left that she had to do.


	14. Ch 13: The Turning Point

Chapter 13 – The Turning Point

The party at Chuy's restaurant in southwest Houston lasted deep into the night. Jess, May Belle, and Janice went together and were joined by most of the "good guys". There wasn't even any awkwardness when they bumped into Apollo… he was giving Jess a lot of praise for a great match and giving him a close call.

The trio realized, however, that their trip was basically over. They had done some amazing things and Jess had made some amazing accomplishments. But it was time to head back to Lark Creek, Virginia. Jess and May Belle knew, somehow, that getting the crown, robe, and scepter into Terabithia would restore some kind of balance or order, and both of them were starting to get uneasy about how long they had been away.

"The easiest way," offered May Belle earlier, "is to simply sneak out in the middle of the party. The people will be so busy with everyone there that by the time they know we're gone, we can be well out of town."

"I think you should stick with the wrestling! You could be _World Champion!_ You almost _were!__"_, pleaded Janice.

"No," said Jess, "I'm an artist and a teacher. I'm really not a fighter. This was a strange chapter in my life but it's time to go home. Maybe _you_ should try out for this wrestling thing."

Janice was disappointed but resigned to the fact that the three of them had better get moving. Slipping out into the parking lot, they made their way towards the old Buick to start the long journey home. To their surprise, there was an immobilizer boot on the rear tire. _It's a legal space!_ thought Jess.

"Oh, hello there," said Ariel Jelinsky. She was sitting cross-legged on the hood of Jess's car. Jess gave her a stunned look. "Don't worry," she smiled, "I took my shoes off first so I wouldn't scratch your hood."

"I wasn't thinking of the paint job!" said Jess. "I'm more concerned about the immobilizer boot on my car!"

"Yeah," added Janice. "You're one weird chick and we need to get going."

Ariel paused, then added very calmly, "I'm afraid that won't be possible."

"Why, you!" Janice was quickly losing her temper. "You better get out of our way!"

"Please," said Ariel. She hadn't moved from her position on the hood of the car. "I really am not looking for any trouble. I am the Women's World Wrestling Champion and I think if you were to be aggressive it would not be to your advantage. Jess and I need to talk about some important stuff here."

Janice was enraged. A little bit of her old aggressive self rose to the surface, and she took a swing at the seated Ariel. Less than a second later, she was face down on the parking lot. She was in no pain whatsoever, but Ariel had her arms and legs twisted in such a way that it was completely impossible to move. After a few seconds which got the point across, Ariel released Janice and helped her to her feet. "Once I explain everything, this will make a lot more sense," Ariel promised.

All three of the Lark Creek people were skeptical and a bit upset but they felt they had to listen if they wanted the immobilizer off of the car.

"I should talk to you alone, Jess. It's about Terabithia and I don't want to violate your privacy."

"No," said Jess. "I told you. Terabithia is a comic book land that I draw and that's it. I'm flattered, really I am, that you enjoy it so much. But you're getting a little obsessive. Anything you want to say you can say to ALL of us."

"I really don't think it's a good idea," pleaded Ariel.

"None of us are leaving. Period." Jess was very clear that he wasn't budging.

"OK, I'm sorry this has to be done so publicly," offered Ariel. "I know the real truth about Terabithia. I know it is a real magical world that you used to swing to on a rope bridge with a girl named Leslie when she was 11. I know she died when she tried to go alone, and she drowned."

"Terabithia was at first a place you couldn't see. You thought you and Leslie just went there to kind of play games related to your problems at school. But then you started to actually _see_ what she was talking about it, and you knew it was real."

"I know that Janice used to be one of the big bullies, but after Leslie figured out that she was beaten up by her dad that she was just hurting on the inside. Later, she and Jess became friends."

Janice snapped again and charged Ariel, who sidestepped her charge and once again tied her up in a virtual knot.

Just then, Apollo stepped out of the shadows. "Ladies. Jess." He said calmly. "You're pretty good, um…"

"My name is Janice Avery. Nice to meet you," she said as Ariel let her up.

"Let's go talk for a minute, Janice," offered Apollo. "You'd need some training, of course, but I've brought people into this business and I think you could be a women's champion someday."

"Really?" asked Janice incredulously, unable to take her eyes off the gold championship belt on Apollo's shoulder.

"Yes, really." And with that Janice and Apollo returned to the restaurant to talk business.

Jess and May Belle didn't know what to say. How did Ariel know everything? She couldn't have known unless…

Ariel sensed their confusion. "Unless you told me, Jess," she completed his thought.

"But we never talked about that."

Ariel sighed deeply and stepped back into her shoes. "I have a confession to make, Jess. I hypnotized you to reveal every last detail about Terabithia and what happened there."

"No, that's impossible. You can't hypnotize someone against their will."

"That's true," she explained. "It wasn't against your will. You had a deep down need to tell someone else the truth. You thought the comic book told the story well enough but you had to share the details with someone besides May Belle."

"No, that was a secret between us. He didn't want to share it with you!" May Belle shouted, but knew better than to go after Ariel.

"Just… just a second," said Jess. "Let's hear her out."

"I knew you wouldn't believe me," continued Ariel, "but look at this."

Ariel took out of her backpack an obviously old, well-worn piece of paper. It seemed to be a map a child had drawn years ago. On the top of it was the title "Amaranthia."

"Ok, so you had an imaginary land too when you were a kid. So what?" challenged Jess.

"Hold it up to the map of Terabithia. Look how the "Uncharted Lands" of Amaranthia match up exactly with the "Unknown Woods" of Terabithia. If you put the two maps together… it is a perfect circle. And you know this map is too old for it to have been made since I knew you in person."'

"No," said Jess, "but you could have made it years ago off an early version of the comic." Jess knew that he was starting to grasp for explanations.

"Jess. May Belle.", Ariel said softly. "You know I am telling the truth. No tricks, no hypnotic phrases anymore. I am just asking for your trust."

In that moment, Jess and May Belle were convinced beyond anything that Ariel was telling the truth.

"So why is this important? So we each rule separate lands that we can't get to. We do our thing, you do yours."

"It's not that simple, explained Ariel. Let me tell you a story. I'll do as good of a job as I can without hypnotizing anyone, I promise."

"My best friend when I was 9 years old was an autistic boy named Billy. I was his only friend and he was mine. Why? I don't know. We just knew we were meant to be around each other. Everyone picked on him, he was lucky that I think he didn't really deeply understand what they were saying. He trusted me, I had some kind of a way of talking to him that calmed him."

"Billy never talked beyond saying 'yes', 'no', or maybe hello. But he was a gifted artist. He would draw wonderful pictures, far beyond what any 9 year old could normally do. We would go into the woods together and I would make up stories about what happened."

"But soon, something happened. We started seeing our stories come to life _for real_. I thought it was just my imagination until one day a troll took a swipe at us and grazed both of our legs. When we scrambled out of the woods, we both had bloody knees… yet we hadn't fallen on your way out."

"Our world, Amaranthia, was a real place that we went to almost every day. But Billy's life was getting worse at home. I could tell from how he drew. And our world became a darker place. We started being very afraid of a shadowy figure he drew. I always called him the…"

"Dark Master?" Jess interrupted. Ariel's eyes lit up and Jess knew they were on the same wavelength.

"Okay. You're telling the truth," Jess concluded. "I've never used the phrase 'Dark Master' in any of the comics. The evil characters have different names. But yes, the villain of Amaranthia and Terabithia must be the same person. Now what? Did he beat you guys?"

"Darkness became strong in Amaranthia," continued A.J., "as things got worse for Billy. One day, Billy never came back and it was announced in school that he died. He probably died at the hands of his abusive father but the police ruled it an accident."

A.J. was sobbing now. "I… I was only nine, Jess. And I wasn't as strong as you. I fled. I never went back for six months."

"When I got there… I went into our secret fort and noticed something. My robe and crown were still there, in pristine condition. But his robe, crown, and scepter… the cheap bathrobe and stick that became something else in our world, were gone. And in Amaranthia, those objects were key to having control over the kingdom. My absence, Jess, caused the Dark Master to gain control the Throne of Amaranthia and imprison all the good people. He probably knew he couldn't invade Terabithia."

"And I… didn't fight, Jess. I was too afraid to go it alone, so I tried to make myself forget. I never went back! bI turned my imagination to other things, other projects. I almost convinced myself that I had imagined Amaranthia. After all, I could see things so vividly in my mind… what was real and what wasn't anyways?"

"And it worked, until I saw your comic! Then I knew what a terrible thing I had done. How many people were doomed for YEARS by my choosing not to act." Ariel collapsed to the ground, sobbing uncontrollably.

Jess knew the situation she was talking about… he was tempted himself to abandon Terabithia after Leslie's death too. He had to help Ariel through this crisis – but how?


	15. Ch 14: Planning A Return

Chapter 14 – Planning a Return

Ariel Jelinsky continued to sob after recounting her story of failing to save Brian when he was nine.

Jess and May Belle were starting to tear up as well. This was the same story that could have happened after Leslie died. _How can I help?_ thought Jess, racking his brain for ideas. Strangely, the words seemed to come out automatically for him.

He helped Ariel up to her feet and looked directly into her eyes. "Ariel," he said firmly, "you cannot blame yourself for anything that happened. I am not going to let you do that and you aren't going to allow yourself to. Close your eyes, talk to the young A.J. and forgive her."

"No matter what your destiny or what our next adventure is," continued Jess in a soft but commanding voice, "You realize that your 9-year old self did the very best she could in a bad situation. And… it's time for you, the adult Ariel Jelinsky, to forgive little A.J. You've been on her case for your entire life for not saving Billy, but there was nothing she could do. And… in a sense you did save Billy. You brought happiness, and a friend, into his life when he had nobody."

A single tear rolled down Ariel's cheek. "Now…um, open your eyes and realize what a wonderful, caring, and giving person you are." Ariel slowly woke up, slightly shocked. _Did Jess have the same gift she did?_ "What was that?" asked Ariel. "I seriously have no idea," explained Jess, but I'm glad you feel better.

Ariel smiled.

"So all we have to do is get you back into Amaranthia as the Queen. You return the royal objects there and everything's good again, right? Maybe we send some troops over to help."

"It's not quite that simple. You see, these objects tend to find their way to owners," explained Ariel.

"Did you ever wonder why you never faced your biggest enemy face to face? The Dark Master never took human form. Either in Amaranthia or in Terabithia. He didn't have a host, and that's what he always craved. I believe he put himself into those objects (think kind of a cross between Harry Potter and Lord of the Rings) and left, hoping to find a human form. Once he did, he would return to Amaranthia and Terabithia 100 times more powerful as a true, human Dark King."

"The wrestling business was a perfect place for him to bide his time looking for a human he could influence, and later possess. Did you see all the enormous egos? The empty people looking for quick money and glory? But it took a long time. King Richard was too good of a person to be influenced in the slightest, he treated the objects like a joke. It bothered me – to me those objects were sacred – but I knew they were in safe hands for the time being. The Dark Master made the wrong call when he made Richard the owner of the objects."

"I also wasn't too worried about Paul Brunette. I figured he was too much of a goofball to become a vessel for the Dark Master. But he was definitely influenced by them. The Dark Master was able to rig Paul's rise to the championship, I think, knowing that he could then feud with King Richard and start keeping the objects around. His disgusting act in the match with Jess proves that he has a stronger presence in Paul. Paul wasn't _that_ bad before. Some of the Dark Master is in Paul and some is in the stuff that he took."

"OK," said Jess. "You have this very well thought out, and I believe you." He looked over at May Belle, who nodded her assent. "So we need to get back to Terabithia and you to Amaranthia with the stuff, destroy it and there ends the Dark Master for good, right?"

"It's not _quite_ that simple. Paul Brunette is going to have to come with us."

"Excuse me?" said Jess.

"I'll explain," promised Ariel, "but let's save the explanation and the battle plan for the morning, ok?"


	16. Ch 15: A Twist in the Plot

Chapter 15 – A twist in the plot

Ariel Jelinsky woke up at 2:00 AM to hear a faint but frantic knocking on the door. Her dream of soaring over the clouds rudely interrupted, she stepped into a pair of slippers and tossed on her robe as she shuffled over to the door of her room in the Renaissance Hotel. She was surprised to see a disheveled and obviously upset woman at the door. Something told her she should open up.

The woman gave a glance behind her as she quickly stepped into the room. As Ariel turned a couple of lights on, she looked at the woman again. Rage and disgust, two emotions very rare for Ariel, began to pound through her veins.

"Wait!" the woman pleaded, knowing that Ariel had figured out who she was. "I will explain everything. I came here unarmed, I'm not a wrestler, and I know if my explanation is unacceptable I'm going to get the crap kicked out of me anyways. Not that I'm not used to that anyways."

"Huh?" asked Ariel, slightly confused. _She's right. I can beat the crap out of her anytime I want to… __Might as well listen._

"Ariel, please believe me. I'm so sorry I did that to Jess. It was wrong and it was horrible but I – I had no choice."

"Stop!" commanded Ariel. "I don't even know your name."

"Sorry. It's Terri."

"OK, Teri," continued Ariel sternly. "I am very interested in the reason you felt the need to pretend to be Jess Aaron's long-dead friend to distract him long enough for Paul Brunette to win the match. I'm sure it will be _fascinating_." Her patience was not going to last long.

"Everything has to do with John. John Kujo is my, well, we have been living together for about four years. He put me up to this. Paul didn't even like the plan."

"OK, so the plan wasn't Paul's idea. You're still the guilty party here," accused Ariel.

"Yes, and I apologize to everyone involved. But you see…" Terri's voice got shaky. "John – he – he hits me, Ariel. All the time. I'm scared of him and… he'd probably kill me if he knew I snuck out. I have to do everything, all the awful stuff he makes me go along with. He's the one with the job and the money and I – can't leave."

"So let's say I believe you. Then what?"

"My goal, Ariel, is to get far, far away from John. Ever since he put me up to something so awful, I knew it was just a matter of time. What else could he make me do if he made me do something _that_ evil already? You need to know too," Terri explained, "that Paul Brunette has very little to do with _any_ of this."

"Really….", questioned Ariel.

"Yes. John has been the brains of this team since it existed. He's quiet and Paul is the loudmouth so it looks the opposite. But John has been stunned and jealous since Paul won the title. John could beat Paul in 30 seconds if he wanted to. He's a better athlete and much smarter."

Ariel motioned for Terri to continue.

"John never got title shots because he had a hard time getting enough singles matches. But he knew with Paul as champion, he would very soon be able to ask for a 'friendly' championship match between the two. He'd steamroll Paul and figured he would be able to do pretty well against the top guys. The top guys don't like fighting midcarders who are a lot stronger than their rankings indicate."

"Reach out and give me both of your hands." Ariel's voice was soft but very commanding. "Look directly into my eyes and do not look away." Terri complied.

"I am going to ask you a series of questions. You will answer them with a simple yes or no. At the end of the set of questions I am either going to help you or kick your ass."

Terri didn't dare break her lock with Ariel's eyes.

"Are you John Kujo's fiancé?" asked Ariel.

"Yes."

"Has he been abusing you frequently?"

"Yes."

"Is he physically harming you?"

"Yes."

"Were you a willing participant in the plan?"

"No."

"Were you involved in that plan because he threatened to hurt you if you weren't?"

"Yes."

"Did you believe your safety was threatened if you didn't go along?"

"Yes."

Ariel released Terri's hands. She stood up, pulled Terri out of a chair and hugged her as Terri began sobbing. "I know you're telling the truth, hun. We're going to take care of this. Jump into the other bed."

Terri shakily walked over to the other bed and timidly sat down on it with all her clothes on, even her shoes.

"Terri…" Ariel said softly. "You need to take off your shoes, it will be a lot more comfortable."

As Terri looked down towards her right shoe, Ariel stepped forward and with a quick jerk of Terri's left hand, yelled "SLEEP!" Laying Terri gently down on top of the bedspread, she whispered into her ear, "Relax now, everything is going to be OK from here."

Jess, Ariel, Janice and May Belle had breakfast delivered to Jess's room. They were very suspicious as Ariel recounted the events of the previous night, but they knew by the end she wasn't lying.

"Hey, we could take John out after the next card, meet him with some baseball bats or something?" offered Janice.

"No, I don't think so," offered Ariel. "What he fears far more than physical injury is humiliation in his career. And I have a way to do that and a safe place for Ariel to go."

She turned to Janice and sized her up. "Janice, you are going to be asked to do some strange, almost unbelievable things in the next several days. I want you to – trust me – whatever I say, without questioning me. We are all on the same page together and we are going to get even with John Kujo for what he pulled. But it's going to be a long, strange trip but you will –enjoy the ride--."

Janice nodded, a faraway look in her eyes. "Whatever it takes to get even with John Kujo for hurting Jess, I'll do"

"Great, then it's settled!" exclaimed Ariel, jumping out of her chair. _How does she shift so quickly back and forth from serious to bouncy?!_ thought Jess.

"Now, if you will excuse me," said Ariel excitedly, "I have a business meeting I need to attend to."


	17. Ch 16: BJ Radinz

Chapter 16: Bill J. Radinz

Ariel Jelinsky returned to her hotel room. There was about an hour left before checkout time. Plenty of time for her to do everything she needed to do. She stretched out on her bed and a silly, childlike grin washed over her face. Reaching over to the phone, she dialed a number she knew well.

"Commissioner Radinz!" said Ariel happily. "How very nice to get you on the phone. Listen –to me right now – because I have a great idea that I think we can work into some of the programming, ok? I have to tell you a story first. You –will—love my story like you always do."

She paused for a moment.

"I can call you Bill, right?" (she always tested people this way). "Good. OK. So I want to back up in time and tell you a story. It was about a cold winter day. You know… you spent a lot of time living in Michigan. Those days where everything is a bright crisp white but the cold is bitter? You step out of bed and you think you are wide awake but you feel a chill everywhere?"

Even now, it was hard for Ariel to giggle when people melted under her storytelling.

"You step out of bed – trying- to be wide awake and start your day. Your feet are freezing now that they are out from under the covers so you –slip into– your warm, cozy slippers. Mmm, that's right. If only you could –let that feeling wash across your whole body. How good would it feel to just slip back under the covers and just let everything around you –drift away now—"

Exactly on cue, 20 minutes later, Bill J. Radinz called a series of one-on-one meetings in his office. First up was Janice Avery.

"Good afternoon, Janice," said Bill unassumingly. "Our talent scouts have had an eye on your athletic ability for some time. This won't jeopardize anything you want to do in college softball as our sport has the luxury of being considered 'fake'."

_Is this a dream?_ wondered Janice? _Am I really sitting across from the CWF commissioner?_

Janice's jaw dropped as Bill passed her the papers marked "Developmental Contract – Women's Division".

"Janice, you may not know this but I have developed a bit of a rivalry with the Atlantic Wrestling Association commissioner. He swiped some of my talent that was under contract. I plan to embarrass him by sending a few of my best people over there to capture their titles. I believe you are capable of winning their Ladies' title and returning it to our territory. You will be traveling with Paul Brunette who will be on a similar mission."

The hairs on the back of Janice's neck stood up when she heard Paul's name… but she remembered Ariel's admonition in the back of her mind. _You will be asked to do a lot of things you don't understand…_

Paul Brunette was next, and was very apprehensive. He knew he wasn't as powerful anymore, something left him when he lost the royal clothing. Did Bill know his secret?

He was relieved to hear an offer similar to Janice's. "Paul, this is a picture of Mr. Self Destruct, or MSD. He is the AWF Heavyweight Champion. Your goal will be to capture his title and return it to our federation. You will be traveling with Janice Avery, a new recruit of ours."

John Kujo was delighted by his meeting too. "I realize, John, that you've been held back. It must have been awkward with your tag team partner as World Champion. That's why I'm giving Paul a couple weeks off, and you will be named the #1 contender for Apollo's World Championship."

Meanwhile, Janice rushed back to the hotel after her meeting. She couldn't wait to tell Jess, May Belle, and Ariel what happened. "Can you believe it? I got a developmental contract! I'm supposed to travel to AWA with Paul Brunette!" said Janice, almost yelling with excitement. "I mean, I know Paul is awful but I have to take this opportunity, right? I don't have to _like_ him…"

"I'm so excited for you!!", exclaimed Ariel in a very fake but very believable state of surprise. "I knew you would do well in this business and I'm glad Bill saw it my, er… glad Bill saw you had it in you."

"Anyways," Ariel added quickly so her slip wouldn't be caught, "So I guess you and Paul are headed up to Maryland then. So congratulations on that. Jess, May Belle… it's back home for you then?"

"Yeah," said Jess. "I'm going to miss you, Janice, but you'll actually be closer to us now if you're spending time in Maryland. So that'll be cool."

"I'm going to miss all of you. We got to be such good friends in a short time… and I don't know when our paths will cross again. You guys are so great!" Ariel was tearing up as she hugged Janice, Jess, and May Belle.

The four of them had their "last" lunch together, as Janice headed back to the league office where she'd meet up with Paul for their trip. They'd leave right from Houston, as it was only a couple weeks' trip . Bill advanced her a few weeks of pay, not wanting her to waste time returning to Arizona State to pick up her belongings.

With an awkward "Hello" and handshake, Ariel hopped into Paul Brunette's Cadillac and they headed East on Interstate 10 towards New Orleans. It would be a three-day trip up to Maryland… Janice was sure it could be done easily enough in two days but the Commissioner had insisted that they should be well-rested.

Jess and May Belle had wide eyes as they stepped into the back of Ariel's conversion van. It had plush, velvety seats in the back, monitors and screens all around the inside, a table, mini-fridge, microwave, and there had to be at least 3 laptop computers.

"Welcome to my home away from home," Ariel smiled. "Yeah, before you ask, there's too much valuable stuff here... so I always get a rental car to and from the arena. You never know what could happen."

"Now, guys… I'll be doing the driving and I'm sure you will be very comfortable back there," Ariel said with a wink. On the monitor behind you, Jess, is the tracking map of Paul Brunette's car. We'll arrive ahead of them in Meridian, Mississippi, if my calculations are correct."

"So, throw in a DVD and sit back. It'll be a long, but fun ride."


	18. Ch 17: Detour

Chapter 17 – Detour

_This is traveling in style!_ thought Jess to himself._ I guess eventually I'll have to get back to pick up the old Buick in Houston…_

Jess and May Belle were having the time of their life in Ariel's well-equipped conversion van. It had screens for watching DVDs, computers, and a monitor to track the movements of Paul Brunette and Janice Avery.

Ariel was able to drive straight through from Houston to Meridian, Mississippi. She knew that Paul and Janice would pass through Meridian the next day, so they settled in for a relaxing evening in their rooms at the Rodeway Inn on Highway 11. It was nothing fancy but they wanted to stay as inconspicuous as possible.

After a refreshing night's sleep, the three woke up and had the free continental breakfast (Jess and May Belle were really getting used to having one), and discussed the plans for the day.

"We are going to tail them, following about one mile behind, all the way to Chattanooga, where they have their scheduled overnight stop. We will stay in the van in the parking lot of their hotel, parked right outside their room actually."

"Wait, won't that be extremely obvious?!" said Jesse, very alarmed.

"Do me a favor, Jesse? Go out and tell me what the van looks like right now?"

"I know what the van looks like. It's a bright blue conversion van."

"Humor me."

"Alright." Jess stepped out the front door and looked at the van. "Oh my God!" he screamed.

Jess stepped back into the van, stunned. The van that he had been riding in was now a bright red color with a drug company logo on the side. "How, wha…, um…" he stammered.

Ariel smiled widely and put her finger to her lips. "Shhhhhhh," she said with a wink.

So the three friends hit the road again, strapping in for the long day's drive to Chattanooga. The ride was filled with stories, laughter, movies, and great food. Somehow, though, Jess and May Belle could have sworn only a couple hours passed when they arrived at their destination in their van which was now black with tinted windows.

"So," offered Jess, "I think I know the plan now. You gave me enough clues."

"Ok, give it a shot," said Ariel.

"Alright. We need both Paul Brunette in Terabithia and the royal outfit in Amaranthia with you. The Dark Master will be forced to show himself, then we will battle him with our armies… you from the north and us from the south. We'll meet somewhere near the unknown forest, pushing back his minions and eventually finishing him off once and for all."

"Close," said Ariel. "But I can't go back to Amaranthia."

"What are you talking about?!" interjected May Belle?

"We have to do this whole thing from Terabithia."

"No offense, Ariel, but you're not part of Terabithia."

"Wait, let's hear her out," said Jess.

"I… I can't do it. I've been away for too long. For all I know everyone is enslaved or even dead. I need to join you to defeat the Dark Master but I don't deserve to be a Queen. I promise you, after we finish this task I'll forget about Terabithia and never return." Ariel began sobbing.

Jess and May Belle looked at each other, and seemed to sense the same thing. It was May Belle who spoke up, more quietly this time.

"OK. I'm sorry if I jumped on you a little bit. It's just – we haven't been to Terabithia ourselves since the beginning of summer. And we've never really had any stran – any new people in there at all really. But you are royalty whether you like the title or not, and I think you will be well-received."

Ariel thanked them tearfully and pushed a button that made three small but nice beds pop up out of the floor.

"Wait a minute, Ariel," said Jess. "We're forgetting something. How are we going to get Paul to change plans and come with us?"

"That's easy," interrupted May Belle. "Ariel will just hypnotize Paul and make him follow us. Right?"

"That part isn't quite so simple," said Ariel with a frown. With the Dark Master's partial presence in Paul, the hypnosis could give very unpredictable results. This isn't really my style, but I'm afraid we're going to have to use… force."

A horrified look washed over May Belle's face. Jess smiled though. He remembered the awful stunt that Paul pulled, faking the return of Leslie Burke. _Possessed or not,_ he thought, _he did it and he's going to pay for it tomorrow morning._

At precisely 8:57 the next morning, Paul Brunette and Janice Avery walked out the front door of the Hilton Garden inn off of Interstate 75. Janice walked to the passenger side and Paul to the driver's side. As his hand reached the door, he felt a kick to the groin from behind as a strange-smelling rag was placed tightly over his face.

As Paul's consciousness faded, he heard a female voice he swore he'd heard before. "I'm really NOT sorry for doing this, Paul…"


	19. Ch 18: Return to Virginia

Chapter 18 – Back to Virginia

Despite being in the most luxurious vehicle any of them had ever been in, the final leg of the trip to Virginia was far more somber than the rest of the trip. Though Ariel was doing her best to lighten the mood, none of the expanded crew of Jess, May Belle, and Janice could seem to shake up the fact that Paul Brunette was unconscious and tied up in a small closet in the back of the van.

"Really, it's OK!" said Ariel. "Look. Paul isn't in any kind of pain or anything. He's just taking a nap until we get him where we need to go."

"And where exactly is _that_?" questioned Janice. "I'm OK with the fact that I am going to be asked to do many strange things as part of your plan. But I think some explanation is in order."

"Absolutely!" said Ariel. "I haven't had the opportunity to bring you into the loop here and now is as good a time as any, right? Let's stop for lunch."

Pulling off the freeway, the crew stopped at a Taco Bell restaurant just south of Knoxville, Tennessee. "How about if Janice and I ran in to get some food while you and May Belle stay here with… the um.. cargo?" offered Ariel.

"Wait a minute!" demanded Janice. "We're going to walk into the store and you're going to just knock me out with hypnosis and I won't remember a thing until I am back in Arizona."

"Janice, I promise I will not knock you out in any way, shape or form."

Janice glared at Ariel. "I'm still not buying it."

"Fine," said Ariel, "May Belle can come in too. Jess – you can handle the van for a few minutes, right?"

Ariel relaxed at the idea of May Belle coming with them, and the three ladies walked into the Jack in the Box. "Let me just tell you a quick story, Janice, of everything that happened that led us to this point, OK?"

About ten minutes and three "sorry for the wait" cinnamon desserts later, the ladies returned to the van. Janice was practically giddy with excitement about the plan.

"Jess!" yelled Janice. "I can't believe this plan is so wonderful! Using Paul Brunette as bait to get his partner here. Then we get John Kujo arrested for abusing his fiancée, because she will meet us at National Airport in D.C. and turn him in then Paul gets hypnotized and just thinks he is right back on his wrestling mission along with me and maybe the two of us will win titles even then wee can even turn Paul into a good guy – wait – _I_ can turn Paul into a good guy you guys are GENIUSES!"

Janice gasped for air after her run-on sentence, then forcefully hugged the rest of the team.

"Yeah, that is a pretty good plan," said Jess. "But I think we have to give Ariel most of the credit for _making it up_, don't we?" he said with a wink.

Pretending not to hear, Ariel started the van. It was only about 100 miles to their actual destination of Lark Creek, Virginia. Now more relaxed, Jess was finally convinced to pop in a video of a guy who used his hypnotic skills to actually convince some people to rob a simulated bank. "Vincent is really a pioneer with this kind of stuff. He scares me a little but he's really a ground-breaker in the hypnotic world," Ariel explained.

Precisely 94.7 miles later, Ariel exited onto Interstate 26, heading north towards Lark Creek.

"Hey, isn't that the exit for home, Jess?" asked Janice, confused. "Wait, this is NOT the way to Washington, D.C.! What the hell is going on, Ariel?!!" Janice demanded.

"Janice," said Ariel in her typical calm voice, "You are correct. This is Interstate 26, the James H. Quillen Parkway." Janice's eyes were already glazed over. "You may not have realized just yet… that Congressman Quillen served the longest unbroken Congressional term in the history of Tennessee?"

But by this point, Janice was deeply asleep, the seed Ariel planted in her mind quickly blossoming into full effect.

Thirty minutes later, the van pulled up alongside a familiar gravel road next to a woods that Jess and May Belle hadn't seen in several weeks. The mood quickly became silent as the four conscious passengers stepped out of the van and saw the bridge that was constructed 11 years ago.


	20. Ch 19: The War Begins

Chapter 19: The War Begins

Settled on a plan, Jesse and May Belle stepped across the rickety bridge into Terabithia, immediately joined by lieges with their royal robes. Before they were even finished donning them, their top general rode up on horseback to appraise them of the situation.

"Your Majesties," explained the goblin-like figure, "We are grateful to have you back. The attacks on the northern frontier have consumed more resources in your absence. We're winning, but not as convincingly as before.

"Thank you, General," said Jesse solemnly. "Prepare your troops as we are facing war."

"War, your majesty?" The general was incredulous. "Surely these are just manageable skirmishes. We battle them and they run back into the unknown forest. There's no farther place to repel them to."

"What if there was another place?" A soft voice spoke from behind them. Immediately the General's two bodyguards confronted the intruder with long spears.

"Queen Ariel!" said May Belle sternly. "The plan was for you to wait to enter here!"

"Sorry, your majesty," offered Ariel. "The prisoner is coming to, and we have to act immediately."

"General, this lady is the queen of another land, she is joining forces with us as an ally. She is queen of Amaranthia." The bodyguards stepped away immediately, deeply bowing as they lowered their weapons. Jesse continued, "Amaranthia is the land of the North. It is… to the north of the Unknown Forest."

The gathering crowd of soldiers was stunned. Mouths hung agape and previously fearless warriors became several shades paler.

"We will fight alongside you. All of us!" exclaimed May Belle. This operation is not without risk. But we stand together with the chance to wipe out the Dark Master once and for all. When we succeed, he will never encroach upon us again. He will never hurt or kill again! Never again will he dampen our spirits!" Though she didn't practice often, May Belle was very skillful when the time came to stir up a crowd.

"Bring us the prisoner!" shouted Jesse.

Tentatively, Janice Avery took her first-ever steps into Terabithia, half-dragging a bound Paul Brunette behind her. Crossing the bridge, her knees buckled as she first saw the wide range of creatures gathering to join the battle. She had read the comics but those were only books. This was _real._

"Secure the prisoner!" ordered the general. In a moment's time a swarm of dragonfly warriors had Paul tightly bound to a tree with metallic-looking cords.

Ariel withdrew the crown and robe. She roughly placed them on Paul's head and shoulders.

Then, the three royals joined hands as Janice looked on anxiously. They recited their well-practiced command. "Dark Master, in the name of the Royalty of Terabithia and Amaranthia, we command you to show your presence!"

The ground shook like a small earthquake. The sky darkened and lightning, rare for Terabithia, crackled across the sky. Rain began to pour. An ominous voice began to echo behind the thunder.

"Foolish mortals," it boomed. "Your incomplete group cannot overpower me. I will show myself if and when I choose. Perhaps to your useless dead bodies! Only the Kings and Queens of Terabithia and Amaranthia together could be a match for me. And – wait, that's right – I am the King of Amaranthia now. Ever since little Ariel left her friend behind to die in the woods."

Ariel's eyes burned red with a hatred nobody had ever seen. She looked up to the sky. "I WILL KILL YOU WITH MY BARE HANDS AND WATCH YOU DIE!"

"Nice one," continued the eerie voice. "Considering that I'm not even in human form right now and you can't make me take one. By the way, thank you for bringing all the artifacts back. I was starting to wonder if I was EVER going to get my parts together so I could materialize once again! Brunette was such a dolt, so limited in his abilities."

_So it was right?_ thought Jess. _It was the Dark Master's plan. There is a limit to what Ariel knows._

Jesse's thoughts were stopped short, however, as the hills darkened with the sight of thousands of skrogers marching over the hills followed by legions of club-wielding trolls. The Terabithian army stood firm, awaiting their orders, but it was clear they had never seen this level of force before.


End file.
